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Circadian Rhythms and School Start Times: The Indivisible Link Between Medicine and Education

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Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders

Abstract

The misalignment between the circadian rhythms of adolescents and the starting time of secondary schools has been a concern for nearly 40 years. Medical research in the 1980s and 1990s revealed that the circadian phase delay during puberty was in direct conflict with most secondary school schedules. Then, as now, the majority of secondary schools in the United States have start times before 8 a.m. Teens who get less than the recommended amount of 8½ to 9¼ hours of sleep nightly are therefore viewed as a high-risk group for problematic sleepiness. Sleep-deprived adolescents are at significant risk for negative outcomes, including drug and alcohol use, depression and suicidal ideation, poor impulse control, reduced academic performance, and drowsy driving. This chapter provides an overview of the research history for how the later school start time movement began, the associated knowledge base to date, and a discussion as to the lack of combined medical and educational research. It concludes with emerging medical research into adolescent sleep and highlights the educational policy issues and later start time research that remain unresolved.

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  1. Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Kyla L. Wahlstrom

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Correspondence to Kyla L. Wahlstrom .

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  1. Mayo Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA

    R. Robert Auger

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Wahlstrom, K.L. (2020). Circadian Rhythms and School Start Times: The Indivisible Link Between Medicine and Education. In: Auger, R. (eds) Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43803-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-43803-6_7

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