What lack of sleep does to the teenage brain - Wendy Troxel

Sleep deprivation is often missed by physicians as a treatable problem due to its presentation as other maladies. While in the short term, behavioral and cognitive functioning problems might show up first, long term consequences of sleep deprivation in otherwise healthy individuals include hypertension, cardiovascular disease, weight related issues, type 2 diabetes, and even colorectal cancer.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has officially recommended a start time of no earlier than 8:30 am for middle and high schools, describing insufficient sleep in adolescents as "an important public health issue that significantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success, of our nation's middle and high school students." Enacting these later start times can even reduce the number of automobile accidents in teens.

In 2022, California became the first school to require later start times for their middle and high schools, with other states monitoring the impact of these new laws to consider the change. While the change would straightforwardly make more room for longer adolescent sleep periods, practically, some families may not be able to take advantage of that time. Single parent families or families where both adults work outside the home may not be able to coordinate the logistics of a later start time.