Health education teacher Pacy Erck remembers what it was like back when Edina High School students had to show up by 7:25 a.m. “The kids were always very tired,” she recalls. But these days, Erck rarely has a kid nod off in class. That’s because in the fall of 1996, officials at this Minnesota school decided to ring the first bell an hour later, at 8:30 a.m. Sleep researchers had reported that teens’ natural slumber patterns favor a later bedtime, and the school wanted to ensure that its high schoolers weren’t being shortchanged by an early wake-up call. The change means that students average five more hours of sleep a week, and teachers can see a difference. “You don’t have the kids putting their heads down,” Erck says. “The class is livelier.”
My school district changed times for high school kiddos LONG before this research and I definately saw a similar change. It’s also easier on me.