If you remember being a teenager and wishing you wouldn't have to leave your bed, or if you've got a teen who you have to drag out of their room in the morning, then this might come as welcome news.
Doctors are now claiming that letting your teen sleep in and get the extra little bit of shut-eye that they're craving might have a huge number of health benefits, and as a result they're also pushing for a later start time at school for those in their teenage years.
According to NBCNews.com, Dr. Judith Owens of the Children's National Medical Centre in Washington stated that the research shows clearly "that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life".
That all sounds good, of course, but there is the little matter of having them out the door by 7.30am so that they're not late for school, so Owens and others are recommending that schools push back their start times to 9am for those in middle school and high school in the United States.
Owens adds that the changes in adolescence include an alteration of your circadian rhythm, or your body's clock, which means that teenagers are really programmed not to go to sleep until after 11pm. However, they also need as much as nine and a half hours of sleep, so getting them up before that means they are "essentially in a permanent state of jet lag".
Although the idea is great in principle, there are plenty of concerns from parents who would have to balance transport schedules, after-school activities and work hours, for older students. As a result, changes may be slow to arrive yet, but we're fairly sure it wouldn't be too hard to get a good few signatures together on a petition at any school for the bell that indicates the start of the first class to be moved back an hour or three...
Via NBC News. Main pic via silverchips.mbhs.edu
