You can use the following article in your local newspaper, a school or PTA newsletter, a staff bulletin, a company newsletter, or for any other purpose that you find.

A WAKE UP CALL TO [YOUR COMMUNITY] PARENTS

LET’S HELP OUR KIDS COME TO SCHOOL AWAKE, AND READY TO LEARN

You hear his alarm go off. You hear it stop. So you wonder a few minutes later why you don’t hear anything else coming from your teen’s bedroom. You poke your head in and he is asleep, again. So begins your daily struggle to get your teen out of bed.

Waking sleeping teens for school is more than a routine annoyance for many parents. It is an ordeal. No matter how much you plead with them to go to bed earlier, nothing seems to get them up on school mornings.

Early morning start times for high schools in many communities are often part of the problem, as school clocks conflict with teens’ own body clocks, which go through a significant shift in circadian rhythm during adolescence. The circadian rhythm is the internal body clock that regulates periods of sleep and wakefulness. Thus the problem is more than disciplinary; the “shift” that teens experience means they tend to have trouble falling asleep before 11 pm and waking up before 8 am. When classes begin early in the morning, between 7 and 7:30 am, for example, and it takes at least an hour to get up, get out, and get to school, chances are that these teens don’t get the 9¼ hours of sleep experts say most adolescents need.

The amount of sleep teens get is only part of the problem; they wake up before their bodies and brains are ready to be awake, interrupting their sleep cycle, which goes through several different stages during the night. Some of the most restorative sleep, and the part that helps the most with learning, occurs in the last stage of sleep, which can be cut short when the alarm rings.

Teens pile up a considerable sleep debt over the course of a week. Even with the extra sleep they get on weekends, most find it hard to catch up. And the change in their sleep schedule from weekend to weekday can make it harder to get the quality sleep they need.

“All of these factors combined result in sleepy teens, and a sleepy teen struggles to learn,” noted [YOUR SPOKESPERSON].

Sleep is essential to the health, academic success and athletic performance of teens. Without enough sleep, they can have difficulty paying attention, and their cognitive function and decision-making can be impaired. Sleep deprivation can also increase the likelihood of emotional and behavioral problems, such as irritability, depression and violence, and lead to greater susceptibility to illness. Sleepy teens have an increased likelihood of drowsy driving and tobacco or alcohol use.

Many school districts across the country have already changed high school start times with impressive results. In a district in Minnesota, for example, follow-up studies show that starting classes just 65 minutes later resulted in students sleeping, on average, an hour more a night; attendance improving and tardiness dropping; fewer visits to the school nurse; and fewer disciplinary referrals to the principal. Counselors reported fewer students seeking help with academic stress and for relationship problems with peers and family. In addition, teachers noted that students were more alert and ready to participate in ways that promote a real education. Students reported less sleepiness in class or while doing homework, and parents reported that their children were easier to live with, experiencing fewer confrontations and more actual conversations and “connect time.” There was even increased participation in after-school activities.

While there may be many logistical concerns that inhibit the ability of administrators to put school schedules in sync with students’ biological needs, there are also many success stories. It is important to remember that our priorities must be focused on the health and education of our students. [YOUR GROUP OR SCHOOL DISTRICT] has begun to study this issue in the hopes of finding a viable solution in our community to solve the problem of early start times and teen sleep deprivation. If you are interested in learning more about the issue of teen sleep and school start times, visit the National Sleep Foundation’s Web site at www.sleepfoundation.org. If you are interested in helping with our efforts for education and change, please contact [YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION / WEBSITE].