A new study has shown delaying school start times for teenagers can have major benefits, including better academic performance and improved mental and physical health.

When students in their mid-teens started school at 10am instead of the usual 8:30am, rates of illness decreased by more than half over a two-year period, and got significantly better grades.

 
The long-term study, which was carried out in an English state school, demonstrated the huge health impact that early start times and more sleep can have on teenagers. 

According to Dr Kelley, conditions as diverse as obesity and depression have been linked with excessively early school times and lack of sleep, and a growing body of evidence is giving calls for change real scientific clout

“There is an increasing amount of research coming out showing similar effects from around the world,” said Dr Guy Meadows, who is co-founder of The Sleep School and was not involved in the study.

As we go through puberty, the circadian rhythms that control the daily cycle of our bodies become delayed by a couple of hours. The release of melatonin, a chemical in the brain that governs sleep, occurs later, meaning that teenagers have a natural tendency to go to bed later than their parents.