It’s 6:45 a.m., and my son is perched on the stairs, painstakingly tying his shoes. The process drags on for three long minutes, and all I can do is watch him move in slow motion. My instinct as a mom is to rush him so he doesn’t miss the bus, but my human side feels a wave of sympathy. That kind of exhaustion is palpable; it’s as if I’m carrying a cartoonish anvil on my back!
At least this time of year is a bit better—there’s light at dawn. The birds are already chirping away. But in winter, it feels almost cruel to shove an 11-year-old out into the frigid cold when the sun hasn’t even peeked over the horizon.
Beyond my personal experiences and those heart-to-heart chats with fellow parents, there’s solid evidence that sleep deprivation among tweens and teens is a serious issue. Despite the research backing this up, not much has changed.
The common advice is to simply “get them to sleep earlier.” Right, because that’s super easy! Even on quiet evenings when all homework is done, my son struggles to drift off after his shower and a little reading. It’s not just him being stubborn; it’s biology at play.
We know that as kids approach puberty, their circadian rhythms shift, causing them to feel sleepy later than they used to. It’s not laziness; it’s a natural change. According to the national organization Start School Later, tweens and teens often don’t feel tired until much later, with their bodies not even signaling them to wake up until after 8 a.m. This clashes with typical school start times, where kids like my son are expected to be alert and ready to learn by 7:30 a.m. Ask any middle school teacher, and they’ll tell you that students really don’t come alive until around 9 a.m.
Sleep deprivation isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a serious hazard. Anyone who has ever been sleep-deprived knows it can turn you grumpy, distracted, and unproductive. I remember the exhausting early years with my kids when they were terrible sleepers. If you’ve ever faced insomnia, you know the struggle of being wired when you should be sleeping, then utterly drained when you need to function.
Teens require about nine hours of sleep per night. But how many actually get it? It’s not just a matter of being tired; research shows that sleep deprivation among kids is a public health crisis. When children don’t get enough sleep, their grades plummet, they exhibit more behavioral issues, experience higher rates of depression, and are at greater risk for accidents—especially when they finally hit the road at 16.
So, if the evidence is undeniable, why are so many school districts dragging their feet on changing start times? That’s the million-dollar question. Despite clear evidence that sleep deprivation has serious health implications, many still view sleep as a luxury rather than a necessity (cue the classic “Back in my day…” comments). There are also logistical hurdles, like transportation issues in districts with limited buses. Changing the start time rarely comes without added costs.
Yet, if we truly care about our kids’ well-being, we must do better than the current approach. Adjusting school start times could ultimately save money by reducing behavioral interventions. If education aims to cultivate healthy, successful citizens, we should prioritize sleep.
Unfortunately, the changes I’m advocating for may not benefit my son directly. My local school board has been discussing this for two years, and while they hope to trial new start times next year, there’s no guarantee my son’s school will be included. But I believe it’s a fight worth fighting, not just for my child, but for all kids. Watching my son shuffle off to school each morning drives home the urgency of this issue. We can—and must—do better.
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Summary
Getting enough sleep for our tweens and teens is becoming increasingly challenging, with biological changes and early school start times contributing to a growing crisis of sleep deprivation. This issue has real consequences for their health and academic performance, yet schools seem slow to adapt. As parents, we need to advocate for our children’s well-being and push for necessary changes in school policies.