Teenagers are not lazy: the case for later school start times
Walker's work on school start times and on how sleep changes from infancy to adulthood and Huberman's guidance for teens describe a real shift toward later sleep in adolescence. Early schedules therefore cut teenagers' sleep in ways that affect learning.
Why do teenagers go to bed late and get up late? Show answer
Their body clocks shift later during adolescence. Walker says the shift is biologically determined and not the teenager's fault.
What marker does Huberman use to show a teen's rhythm sits later? Show answer
The temperature minimum, the lowest point of daily body temperature, which falls about two hours before average waking time. In teens it comes later than in adults.
What job does deep sleep appear to do in adolescence? Show answer
It appears to drive synaptic pruning, removing little-used connections so the brain works more efficiently.
Why does an early school start cost a teenager more than it seems? Show answer
REM sleep and the sleep spindles tied to skill gains are concentrated at the end of the night. An early alarm cuts off exactly that portion.
What happened to teen car crashes in Teton County, Wyoming? Show answer
When the school start moved from about 7:35 to 8:55, car crashes among 16- to 18-year-olds fell 70 percent.
What outcomes does Walker report from later school starts more broadly? Show answer
Better grades, fewer psychiatric problems and less truancy.
What caution attaches to the Edina SAT result? Show answer
The reported rise in top students' scores after the start moved from 7:25 to 8:30 has been questioned, as Walker himself notes.
What is Huberman's priority for parents of teens? Show answer
Maximize total sleep and allow some leeway with their schedule. He says waking them early and depriving them of sleep is probably worse than missing morning light.
How can a teenager's sleep be moved earlier, according to work Huberman cites? Show answer
Turning on lights in the teen's room before they wake helped them fall asleep earlier and get about 45 minutes more deep sleep.
What does sleep loss do to learning in Walker's lab? Show answer
People who stayed awake all night showed a 40 percent deficit in forming new memories. A month later, crammers had lost almost everything.
Is every late night biological? Show answer
No. Phones in the middle of the night, caffeine and electric light push people later than their natural type. Those are habits that can change.
What does Huberman say about melatonin for teenagers? Show answer
He is wary of it. Products have contained 85% to 400% of the labeled dose, and no study has tested such amounts during development.