Tips for Parents - School Start Times Related To Teen Crash Rate
Yet another study has come out showing the relationship between school start times and the teen crash rate.
This study shows that there is a significant difference between the crash rates for students whose school starts early in the morning and those whose classes start later.
It has long been known that teens require more sleep than adults or younger children.
It isn't just a lazy teen thing.
With all the changes and development going on in a teen's body, more sleep is needed to handle the growth and brain development needs.
Teens, on average need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep per night.
However, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), teens normally average only about 7 hours of sleep per school night.
Unfortunately, many school districts haven't caught up with this research and many high schools start as early as 7:00 to 7:30 AM.
In this study, the authors compared the crash rates of two different, nearby school districts.
One district started school at 7:20 AM while the other started classes at 8:40 AM.
For the district beginning at 7:20 AM, the crash rate was 65.
4 crashes for every 1,000 students.
For the district that started at 8:40, the crash rate was 46.
2 for every 1,000 students; a significant difference.
Research by the NSF has shown that lack of sleep leads to more "fall asleep" crashes at night.
Lack of sleep also keeps teens from being able to remain alert, solve problems, cope with stress, and retain information; all critical skills for driving.
For the same reasons, it isn't surprising that some of the studies on sleep deprivation in teens also show a direct correlation between school start times and test scores.
Those schools with later start times show an increase in standardized test scores compared to districts with earlier start times.
Such a simple and inexpensive solution as starting school an hour later can not only increase test scores, but can also potentially save lives.
If your school district starts early, consider lobbying members of the school board to move the start times back.
It could make a different in the educational future and the safety of our teens.
This study shows that there is a significant difference between the crash rates for students whose school starts early in the morning and those whose classes start later.
It has long been known that teens require more sleep than adults or younger children.
It isn't just a lazy teen thing.
With all the changes and development going on in a teen's body, more sleep is needed to handle the growth and brain development needs.
Teens, on average need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep per night.
However, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), teens normally average only about 7 hours of sleep per school night.
Unfortunately, many school districts haven't caught up with this research and many high schools start as early as 7:00 to 7:30 AM.
In this study, the authors compared the crash rates of two different, nearby school districts.
One district started school at 7:20 AM while the other started classes at 8:40 AM.
For the district beginning at 7:20 AM, the crash rate was 65.
4 crashes for every 1,000 students.
For the district that started at 8:40, the crash rate was 46.
2 for every 1,000 students; a significant difference.
Research by the NSF has shown that lack of sleep leads to more "fall asleep" crashes at night.
Lack of sleep also keeps teens from being able to remain alert, solve problems, cope with stress, and retain information; all critical skills for driving.
For the same reasons, it isn't surprising that some of the studies on sleep deprivation in teens also show a direct correlation between school start times and test scores.
Those schools with later start times show an increase in standardized test scores compared to districts with earlier start times.
Such a simple and inexpensive solution as starting school an hour later can not only increase test scores, but can also potentially save lives.
If your school district starts early, consider lobbying members of the school board to move the start times back.
It could make a different in the educational future and the safety of our teens.
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