Delayed school start time = better performance

Delaying middle school and high school start times promotes student health and performance: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement.
Watson NF, Martin JL, Wise MS, Carden KA, Kirsch DB, Kristo DA, Malhotra RK, Olson EJ, Ramar K, Rosen IM, Rowley JA, Weaver TE, Chervin RD.
J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(4):623–625. 

 During adolescence, internal circadian rhythms and biological sleep drive change to result in later sleep and wake times. As a result of these changes, early middle school and high school start times curtail sleep, hamper a student's preparedness to learn, negatively impact physical and mental health, and impair driving safety. Furthermore, a growing body of evidence shows that delaying school start times positively impacts student achievement, health, and safety. Public awareness of the hazards of early school start times and the benefits of later start times are largely unappreciated. As a result, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is calling on communities, school boards, and educational institutions to implement start times of 8:30 AM or later for middle schools and high schools to ensure that every student arrives at school healthy, awake, alert, and ready to learn.

Global sleep crisis

A global quantification of “normal” sleep schedules using smartphone data
Olivia J. Walch, Amy Cochran and Daniel B. Forger
Science Advances 06 May 2016:Vol. 2, no. 5, e1501705

The influence of the circadian clock on sleep scheduling has been studied extensively in the laboratory; however, the effects of society on sleep remain largely unquantified. We show how a smartphone app that we have developed, ENTRAIN, accurately collects data on sleep habits around the world. Through mathematical modeling and statistics, we find that social pressures weaken and/or conceal biological drives in the evening, leading individuals to delay their bedtime and shorten their sleep. A country’s average bedtime, but not average wake time, predicts sleep duration. We further show that mathematical models based on controlled laboratory experiments predict qualitative trends in sunrise, sunset, and light level; however, these effects are attenuated in the real world around bedtime. Additionally, we find that women schedule more sleep than men and that users reporting that they are typically exposed to outdoor light go to sleep earlier and sleep more than those reporting indoor light. Finally, we find that age is the primary determinant of sleep timing, and that age plays an important role in the variability of population-level sleep habits. This work better defines and personalizes “normal” sleep, produces hypotheses for future testing in the laboratory, and suggests important ways to counteract the global sleep crisis.

Are you getting enough sleep?

The National Sleep Foundation’s 2008 Sleep in America poll reports the average American spends 6 hours and 55 minutes in bed — with 6 hours and 40 minutes spent actually sleeping.

The standard 8-hour business day is no longer the norm in America. NSF’s 2008 Sleep in America poll reports the average American’s work day is now 9 hours and 28 minutes. The average time spent in bed is 6 hours and 55 minutes - with 6 hours and 40 minutes spent actually sleeping. NSF recommends getting at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.

According to the Sleep Foundation poll results, 42 percent of people chose 7-8 hours, 31 percent chose 8-9 hours, 14 percent chose more than 9 hours, 10 percent chose 5-6 hours and 3 percent chose less than 5 hours. The first thing experts will tell you about sleep is that there is no "magic number." Not only do different age groups need different amounts of sleep, but sleep needs are also individual.

Click here to read more about why you shouldn't skimp on sleep.