In an article for USA Today about the relationship between teen sleep and school schedules, Amy Wolfson, professor of psychology at the College of the Holy Cross, questions why high schools open so early and argues that later start times would produce happier, more efficient teens.
While studies have shown most teens have internal clocks that are set to fall asleep at 11 p.m. and wake up at 8 a.m., most high schools open around 7 a.m. Wolfson has spent 15 years researching the effect early starts have on teens and her studies suggest the current schedules are responsible for thousands of sleep-deprived students. Her research could help change high schools to later start times, something that has already started happening in some districts throughout the country.
This "Holy Cross in the News" item by Thomas Van Grinsven '11.
