Experts, educators urge later school start times to address teen sleep crisis

Representatives of Start School Later and local school officials told the House Oversight Subcommittee on Public Health and Food Security that shifting middle- and high-school start times later would improve students’ health, safety and academic performance.

Dr. Hannah Hoffman, an MSU faculty researcher representing Start School Later, told the committee that adolescents need 8 to 10 hours of sleep and that ‘‘less than 7 hours is kind of critical. It’s…a real medical emergency that these kids get this additional sleep in order to function.’’ She described biological changes in puberty that delay melatonin release and push teenagers’ natural sleep windows later.

The presenters said insufficient sleep is linked to poorer memory consolidation, higher risks of risk-taking behaviors including weapon carrying, substance use and impaired driving, and increased rates of depression, anxiety and…