Dataset Information

High School Start Times and the Impact on High School Students: What We Know, and What We Hope to Learn.

ABSTRACT:

Study objectives

Several organizations have provided recommendations to ensure high school starts no sooner than 08:30. However, although there are plausible biological reasons to support such recommendations, published recommendations have been based largely on expert opinion and a few observational studies. We sought to perform a critical review of published evidence regarding the effect of high school start times on sleep and other relevant outcomes.

Methods

We performed a broad literature search to identify 287 candidate publications for inclusion in our review, which focused on studies offering direct comparison of sleep time, academic or physical performance, behavioral health measures, or motor vehicular accidents in high school students. Where possible, outcomes were combined for meta-analysis.

Results

After application of study criteria, only 18 studies were suitable for review. Eight studies were amenable to meta-analysis for some outcomes. We found that later school start times, particularly when compared with start times more than 60 min earlier, are associated with longer weekday sleep durations, lower weekday-weekend sleep duration differences, reduced vehicular accident rates, and reduced subjective daytime sleepiness. Improvement in academic performance and behavioral issues is less established.

Conclusions

The literature regarding effect of school start time delays on important aspects of high school life suggests some salutary effects, but often the evidence is indirect, imprecise, or derived from cohorts of convenience, making the overall quality of evidence weak or very weak. This review highlights a need for higher-quality data upon which to base important and complex public health decisions.

SUBMITTER: Morgenthaler TI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5155204 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

High School Start Times and the Impact on High School Students: What We Know, and What We Hope to Learn.

Morgenthaler Timothy I TI Hashmi Sarah S Croft Janet B JB Dort Leslie L Heald Jonathan L JL Mullington Janet J

Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 20161215 12

<h4>Study objectives</h4>Several organizations have provided recommendations to ensure high school starts no sooner than 08:30. However, although there are plausible biological reasons to support such recommendations, published recommendations have been based largely on expert opinion and a few observational studies. We sought to perform a critical review of published evidence regarding the effect of high school start times on sleep and other relevant outcomes.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a broa ...[more]

PMID: 27855730

Similar Datasets

Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate whether later high school start time is associated with lower migraine frequency in high school students with migraine.BackgroundAdequate sleep is thought to be important in managing adolescent migraine. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends teenagers sleep ≥8 hours/night. Adolescents have a physiologically delayed sleep phase, going to bed, and waking later than children and adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) accordingly recommends high schools start no earlier than 8:30 AM.MethodsCross-sectional observational study of U.S. high schoolers with migraine. Participants were recruited nationally using social media. Respondents attending high schools starting at 8:30 AM or later were compared to those attending earlier start time schools. The primary outcome was headache days/month.ResultsTwo hundred and fifty-six subjects constituted the analysis set: 115 later group vs 141 earlier group. Age and sex did not differ. Mean (SD) self-reported headache days/month were 7 (5) vs 8 (7), respectively, (P = .985); mean difference (95% CI for the difference) was -0.8 (-2.3-0.7) days. Median (IQR) self-reported total hours of sleep/school night were: 5.6 (5.0-6.6) vs 5.6 (4.5-6.4), P = .058. Students attending later start time schools woke later (median [IQR] 6:38 AM [55 minutes] vs 6:09 AM [59 minutes], P < .0001) and left home later (median [IQR] 7:28 AM [28 minutes] vs 7:02 AM [60 minutes], P < .0001). Average commute time was also longer: 41 (21) minutes vs 28 (16), P < .0001. The vast majority in both groups reported missing breakfast at least once/week: 103/114 (90.4%) vs 128/141 (90.8%), P = .907. Hours of sleep did not correlate with headache days per month.ConclusionHigh school start time does not have a large effect on headache frequency in high schoolers with migraine. Given the high variance in headache days/month observed in this study, a larger study would be needed to determine whether there might still be a small effect of starting high school at/after 8:30 AM. More research is needed to establish evidence-based recommendations about lifestyle factors in adolescent migraine management.

Dataset Information

High School Start Times and the Impact on High School Students: What We Know, and What We Hope to Learn.

Study objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

High School Start Times and the Impact on High School Students: What We Know, and What We Hope to Learn.

Similar Datasets

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