We are asking the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District to move school start times for all middle and high schools to a healthy start time of 8:30 a.m. or later.

The scientific evidence is clear that teens need to start school no earlier than 8:30 a.m., as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Sleep Foundation.

Sleep researchers and other health professionals tell us that early school hours are harming children. Physiological changes shift teens' internal clocks to later bed and wake times. Early school start times cause teens to miss sleep and to be awake at times inappropriate for their biological cycle.

The negative health and learning impacts of early start times include: 
·      impaired cognitive performance 
·      depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation
·      mood swings and behavior problems 
·      substance abuse 
·      weakened immune system and obesity
·      truancy and tardiness 
·      car accidents 
·      impeded judgment and decision-making ability 
·      potential impacts on brain development

Benefits of later start times that align with teen’s biological sleep rhythms include:
·      greater attention and impulse control 
·      less anxiety and depression and decreased suicide rates 
·      increased academic performance and cognitive processing skills
·      fewer car accidents 
·      increased school attendance (fewer tardies and truancies)
·      higher test scores and better grades.

Schools around the United States are implementing start times of 8:30 or later. Students in schools moving to later start times report gaining additional sleep per night, eating breakfast regularly, being more efficient and alert in class, and having greater motivation. Later start times are associated with a significant increase in academic performance, with benefits roughly twice as great in disadvantaged students.

Let’s make the choice to follow the science and support our students’ mental and physical health by moving our middle and high school start times to 8:30 a.m. or later.

Please see the following websites for additional information on this important issue affecting our children's health and academic potential: 

http://www.startschoollater.net/
 
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/092011_organize_jacob_rockoff_paper.pdf
 
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.aspx​

https://www.npr.org/sections/healthshots/2018/12/12/676118782/sleeplessnomoreinseattlelaterschoolstarttimepaysoffforteens?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2042&fbclid=IwAR0qQuxQSGnh9FMohIRiMGrKF1mflcKSPNqrDAc4tLmQEA23jhfK79dgq4​

http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/12/eaau6200