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Issue

Vol 136 No 1568: 20 January 2023

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Issue Summary

Viewpoint
SUMMARY

Sleep-in to stay well: addressing school start times for the health and wellbeing of teens in Aotearoa

Many teens in Aotearoa New Zealand do not get enough sleep, exacerbated by school start times that force them to wake earlier than they are programmed to. Adolescent’s natural sleep-wake biology shifts at puberty to favour later bedtimes, meaning they naturally need to wake later in the morning, and it does not change again until approximately age 21. In this opinion piece, we argue that a later school start time (no earlier than 9:45 am) every day for senior secondary school students (years 12 and 13) is an attractive, non-stigmatising approach to address adolescent sleep issues, and is backed up by considerable published research on the issue from both here and overseas. Increased sleep also has the potential to favourably impact multiple areas of adolescents' health and wellbeing, as well as school success. However, the authors are acutely aware that later school start times for senior students would impact many people and organisations in a variety of ways, and therefore they also need to hear the opinions of many key stakeholders as to what might help or hinder schools considering shifting to later starts. Short surveys for parents of New Zealand high school-aged teens and New Zealand principals and teachers of high schools, can be accessed on our “Child and Teen Sleep Research Group” Facebook page. Additionally there is a longer survey for New Zealand High School teens (aged 16 and over) that asks for their opinion on later starts, and also asks about their current school start times, and own sleep and wellbeing.

Viewpoint
SUMMARY

Sleep-in to stay well: addressing school start times for the health and wellbeing of teens in Aotearoa

Many teens in Aotearoa New Zealand do not get enough sleep, exacerbated by school start times that force them to wake earlier than they are programmed to. Adolescent’s natural sleep-wake biology shifts at puberty to favour later bedtimes, meaning they naturally need to wake later in the morning, and it does not change again until approximately age 21. In this opinion piece, we argue that a later school start time (no earlier than 9:45 am) every day for senior secondary school students (years 12 and 13) is an attractive, non-stigmatising approach to address adolescent sleep issues, and is backed up by considerable published research on the issue from both here and overseas. Increased sleep also has the potential to favourably impact multiple areas of adolescents' health and wellbeing, as well as school success. However, the authors are acutely aware that later school start times for senior students would impact many people and organisations in a variety of ways, and therefore they also need to hear the opinions of many key stakeholders as to what might help or hinder schools considering shifting to later starts. Short surveys for parents of New Zealand high school-aged teens and New Zealand principals and teachers of high schools, can be accessed on our “Child and Teen Sleep Research Group” Facebook page. Additionally there is a longer survey for New Zealand High School teens (aged 16 and over) that asks for their opinion on later starts, and also asks about their current school start times, and own sleep and wellbeing.

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