The push for later school start times: What a local expert wants you to know

Photo by Claudia Mañas via Unsplash.

Waking up for school can be a big change after sleeping in during the summer, but a UPMC sleep expert says more schools can help by changing their start times to work with kids’ biological clocks. Adrenaline kicks in on the first day with the excitement of a new school year. But after that, it’s often tough — especially for teenagers, to wake up for school because they’re not getting the 8 to 10 hours of sleep that’s recommended.

UPMC Neurologist Dr. Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, a sleep expert at the University of Pittsburgh, says it’s often hard for students to wake up because the school start times are out of sync with the natural rhythm of middle and high school students.

“One of the main reasons is that the natural sleep-wake cycle actually shifts during puberty, and that’s through hormone changes in the brain making it really, really hard for teenagers to fall asleep before 11 p.m.,” said Fong-Isariyawongse.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC recommend middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Across Pennsylvania, 40 school districts have changed their high school start times to a later time in the last decade — including Pittsburgh Public Schools, which moved from 7:15 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. last school year.

Some others that changed recently include Hampton High School moving from 7:30 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. and Woodland Hills High School shifting from 6:45 a.m. to 7:20 a.m. Nationally, only 13% of high schools start at the recommended time, which is after 8:30 a.m.

“With most of our schools starting so early, they’re forced to wake up before their bodies are ready, really leading to a perpetual cycle of chronic sleep deprivation, and the consequences are serious,” she said. “It affects negatively in their academic performance, mental health and safety.”

Research shows kids who are sleep deprived don’t learn as well, are more likely to have health challenges including sports-related injuries and the common cold among many other issues.

“If you ask any parents, teachers, coach, community members if they would knowingly expose a child to something that would increase the risk for obesity, diabetes, risk-taking behavior, depression, lower academic performance, athletic performance, I’m sure they would say, ‘absolutely not’ without a second thought,” Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse said.

“And that’s why I think it’s so important for us to take action now to protect our children’s health and future.”

So what can parents do? Dr. Fong-Isariyawongse has some advice.

1 – Advocate for later start times in your school district.

2 – Help your teenager get the recommended 8 to 10 hours a night by limiting screen time before bed. If they must use a device, turn off the blue light or use blue light glasses.

3 – Set a realistic homework schedule that includes starting early and doing any work that requires a screen first.

4 – Catch up on weekends. While she normally recommends a consistent sleep schedule, this is an exception. “I would advise parents and teens to kind of find a balance that allows for some extra sleep on the weekend, but still maintaining some degree of regularity in sleep, wake schedules,” she says.

There’s a bill before the Pennsylvania State House to delay school start times in accordance with the national standards by the 2026-27 school year.

And just a note for younger kids – the recommended amount of sleep for kids ages 6 to 13 is 9 to 11 hours of sleep.