Also published in 2014, meta-analysis of studies related to adolescent sleep and school start times from the fields of neuroscience and psychology found that, “During adolescence, biological changes dictate both a sleep duration of nine hours and later wake and sleep times … failure to adjust education timetables to this biological change leads to systematic, chronic and unrecoverable sleep loss … (and) causes impairment to physiological, metabolic and psychological health in adolescents while they are undergoing other major physical and neurological changes.” Biological wake times change significantly during these years - from 6:30 at age 10, to 8:00 at age 16, to 9:00 at age 18. A study conducted at the U.S. Air Force Academy found the later the class start time, the better the cadets performed academically.

Additionally, cognitive improvements extended beyond that first class. Speaking directly to school leaders, the authors were clear: “Good policies should be based on good evidence, and the data show that children are currently placed at an enormous disadvantage by being forced to keep to inappropriate education times. Synchronizing education institutions’ timings to adolescent biology to enable adequate sleep time seems both practical and necessary, and reflects what can be achieved by considered and well-researched trans-disciplinary interventions based on neuroscience, sleep science and education research.”

The benefits of structuring academic schedules to fit the most current research regarding adolescent brain development, researchers at the University of Minnesota examined the impact of later start times on the health and academic performance of high school students and found school attendance, standardized test scores, and academic performance in math, English, science, and social studies to improve while tardiness, substance abuse, symptoms of depression, and consumption of caffeinated drinks decreased. Dr. Kyla Whalstrom noted that it’s not a matter of having high school students go to bed early: “Biologically, the medical research shows that teenagers are incapable of falling asleep before 10:45.”