Most middle and high schools start too early, CDC study says

The vast majority of U.S. middle and high schools begin before 8:30 a.m., despite recommendations from experts that a later start could help students get more sleep and improve their health, safety and academic performance, according to a report by researchers at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Connecticut, fewer than 5 percent of middle and high schools started at 8:30 or later, one of the lowest rates in the country, according to the report, which was based on 2011-2012 school data and published Thursday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Connecticut’s average start time for middle and high schools was 7:46 a.m., earlier than the national average of 8:03 a.m.

Overall, in 42 states, more than three-quarters of middle and high schools began before 8:30 a.m, according to the report.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended last year that schools begin at 8:30 or later to help students get more sleep, saying that doing so could reduce the risk of obesity, lower rates of depression and improve safety, academic performance and quality of life.

The group described insufficient sleep among adolescents – defined as less than 8½ to 9½ hours per night – as “an important public health issue that significantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success, of our nation’s middle and high school students.”

The CDC report’s authors noted that the proportion of students who got enough sleep has remained steady at about 31 percent since it was first measured in 2007.

“Among the possible public health interventions for increasing sufficient sleep among adolescents, delaying school start times has the potential for the greatest population impact by changing the environmental context for students in entire school districts,” the CDC researchers wrote. “However, a late school start time does not preclude the need for other interventions that have the potential to improve the sleep of adolescents.”

They also noted several barriers to change, including concerns about increased transportation costs and difficulties scheduling after-school activities.

Earlier this year, Connecticut’s State Student Advisory Council on Education recommended reversing secondary and elementary school start times so older students would begin school later.

The CDC report’s authors offered some other suggestions for improving sleep among teens. Those include keeping a regular bedtime and wake-up time, even on weekends; setting a “media curfew” to limit exposure to electronics in the evening, which can interfere with sleep; and setting a good example.

“Adolescent sleep habits tend to reflect their parents’ sleep habits,” the authors wrote.