What do surveys find about American teenagers?

(11) Surveys of American teenagers find that about half of them do not get enough sleep on school nights. They get an average of sixty to ninety minutes less than experts say they need. One reason for this deficit is biology. Experts say teens are biologically programmed to go to sleep later and wake up later than other age groups. Yet many schools start classes as early as seven in the morning. As a result, many students go to class feeling like sixteen-year-old Danny. He plays two sports and generally he is an active teen—except in the morning. So what can schools do about sleepy students? (12) Eric Peterson is the head of St. George’s School in the northeastern state of Rhode Island. (13) He wanted to see if a thirty-minute delay would make a difference. It did. He says visits to the health center by tired students decreased by half. Late arrivals to first period fell by a third. And students reported that they were less sleepy during the day. (12) Eric Peterson knows that changing start times is easier at a small, private boarding school like his. But he is hopeful that other schools will find a way.