Our public school district finally changed the high school start time to be later just this year (it had been 7:05 am)! Helping teenagers get more sleep was a big part of the motivation for this shift.
But your piece insightfully points out that this won’t matter much if we don’t pair it with common sense guidance on screens and sleep. Thanks for writing.
This really resonates—especially the metaphor of sleep as a risk of becoming passive in the face of rapid change. It makes me think about how, as educators, we’re responsible not just for keeping up, but for designing systems that respect time, capacity, and the context our learners (and we) are navigating.
In my work, I’m exploring how frameworks like CRAFT can help schools stay awake—not overwhelmed—by anchoring decisions in human context and realistic capacity, even as AI reshapes what’s possible. Thanks for naming this tension so clearly.
Spot on! After eight years teaching eighth grade, my number of "sleepers" keeps getting higher and higher. Many students self-report going to bed well after 2:00 most days, meaning a sizeable number gets less than five hours of sleep. No *wonder* why they don't retain anything!
Another consideration on the "hiring more mental health professionals doesn't address the problem" matter: there simply aren't enough of them. We talk of the teacher shortage, which is also real, but in most states someone can at least get started as a teacher by subbing or meeting a short list of requirements for a provisional license. Not so for mental health professionals, all of whom require 60 hour specialized master's degrees. There simply aren't enough in the labor market, especially given that all of them (with the possible exception of social workers) can do better financially in private practice.
I agree that sleep deprivation is a major factor in academic declines, but the central cause of sleep deprivation are the screens and the free (or cheap) and widely available content distributed on those screens: social media, videos, video games, pornography, streaming, apps, texting, etc.
Schools and districts can launch campaigns educating their students and families on the importance of sleep and, yes, should hold those students accountable for lateness and absences (this is so important) but until parents themselves limit screen time, and until we pass common sense age restriction laws and handle tech companies the way we handled the tobacco industry, children's nightly sleep will continue to deteriorate, and reading and math scores will continue to decline.
Tim - a very insightful piece. Thank you. You have made a compelling case as you usually do. We have had so much focus on curriculum, tutoring etc.. (which are good things to focus on), that we have forgotten how important healthy school culture is to success. We focus so much on creating high performing teams and cultures in adult work places, but, ironically have forgotten how important it is for children too. Sleep and students arriving ready to learn and work is critical to changing the current trajectory. In my opinion, schools have to create a healthy, proactive culture where students can be supported and ready to do hard things in learning. Sleep is a very important first step.
I really appreciate this push around sleep here, Tim. One thing I’d love to see mentioned here too, and why I believe Attendance Works mentions later start times, is because of the shift in sleep habits at puberty. The combination of biological shifts + technology seems to be a real challenge so ideas that work for elementary students may not work as well for middle and high school students. - Danielle Pickens
Our public school district finally changed the high school start time to be later just this year (it had been 7:05 am)! Helping teenagers get more sleep was a big part of the motivation for this shift.
But your piece insightfully points out that this won’t matter much if we don’t pair it with common sense guidance on screens and sleep. Thanks for writing.
Thank you, Tim, excellent insights as always!!
This really resonates—especially the metaphor of sleep as a risk of becoming passive in the face of rapid change. It makes me think about how, as educators, we’re responsible not just for keeping up, but for designing systems that respect time, capacity, and the context our learners (and we) are navigating.
In my work, I’m exploring how frameworks like CRAFT can help schools stay awake—not overwhelmed—by anchoring decisions in human context and realistic capacity, even as AI reshapes what’s possible. Thanks for naming this tension so clearly.
Spot on! After eight years teaching eighth grade, my number of "sleepers" keeps getting higher and higher. Many students self-report going to bed well after 2:00 most days, meaning a sizeable number gets less than five hours of sleep. No *wonder* why they don't retain anything!
Another consideration on the "hiring more mental health professionals doesn't address the problem" matter: there simply aren't enough of them. We talk of the teacher shortage, which is also real, but in most states someone can at least get started as a teacher by subbing or meeting a short list of requirements for a provisional license. Not so for mental health professionals, all of whom require 60 hour specialized master's degrees. There simply aren't enough in the labor market, especially given that all of them (with the possible exception of social workers) can do better financially in private practice.
I went to a fascinating webinar with my pal and learning scientist Cynthia Nebel awhile back and couldn't help but also think sleep has got to be a factor in what we see in schools. Your piece is brilliant and grateful to you for writing it! Here's the link to her webinar, if you/others are still digging on this topic I am sure she has the recording that you could watch!: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cynthia-nebel_reminder-for-the-webinar-im-offering-next-activity-7262524275096526848-glzy?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAI58kYBQKkGjO8qT6wJzlrZlcNlIfWOUnc
All roads lead to screens.
I agree that sleep deprivation is a major factor in academic declines, but the central cause of sleep deprivation are the screens and the free (or cheap) and widely available content distributed on those screens: social media, videos, video games, pornography, streaming, apps, texting, etc.
Schools and districts can launch campaigns educating their students and families on the importance of sleep and, yes, should hold those students accountable for lateness and absences (this is so important) but until parents themselves limit screen time, and until we pass common sense age restriction laws and handle tech companies the way we handled the tobacco industry, children's nightly sleep will continue to deteriorate, and reading and math scores will continue to decline.
It's the screens.
It's the screens.
It's the screens.
Tim - a very insightful piece. Thank you. You have made a compelling case as you usually do. We have had so much focus on curriculum, tutoring etc.. (which are good things to focus on), that we have forgotten how important healthy school culture is to success. We focus so much on creating high performing teams and cultures in adult work places, but, ironically have forgotten how important it is for children too. Sleep and students arriving ready to learn and work is critical to changing the current trajectory. In my opinion, schools have to create a healthy, proactive culture where students can be supported and ready to do hard things in learning. Sleep is a very important first step.
I really appreciate this push around sleep here, Tim. One thing I’d love to see mentioned here too, and why I believe Attendance Works mentions later start times, is because of the shift in sleep habits at puberty. The combination of biological shifts + technology seems to be a real challenge so ideas that work for elementary students may not work as well for middle and high school students. - Danielle Pickens