Do Later School Start Times Benefit Student-Athletes?

Next year, three high schools in Virginia's Fauquier County are making the move to a new athletic conference, a transition that has some worried that the new competition has an unfair advantage: sleep. High schools in neighboring Loudoun county start later, at approximately 9 a.m. It's not a difference that most athletic programs might think of, but there's a growing body of evidence to suggest that later school start times are crucial to improving students' performance, academic and physical.

According to recent findings by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the effects of chronic sleep deprivation on youth are as wide spanning as they are serious. "Adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life," said lead author, Dr. Judith Owens.

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