Melrose Board Of Health Says 'Start School Later!'

By Barry Thompson and Kasandra Brabaw (Patch Staff)

image: flickr

Ask most teenagers whether they would prefer to sleep later on school days, and they’ll give you an enthusiastic “yes,” possibly preceded by an expletive or two. Meanwhile, adults affiliated with the Melrose Board of Health (MBoH) have come to agree, noting that starting school days later could lead to a community of healthier, sharper teens.

“With our current school start times, adolescents are being forced to wake up at an hour when their brains are biologically programmed to be in deep sleep,” said Dr. Frank Brincheiro of the MBoH, in an email interview with Patch. “Very few of them are getting the essential eight and a half to nine and a half hours of nightly sleep recommended.”

Back in January, the MBoH unanimously voted to push for later school starting time, prompted by studies conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Sleep Foundation. The Melrose School Committee plans to discuss the initiative at its upcoming meeting on Feb. 18.

The research cited by the MBoH indicates that teen brains secrete melatonin - a crucial sleep hormone - between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. That means if they’re roused at 7 a.m. or earlier to get ready for school, they’re technically being sleep deprived on a daily basis.

Scientists have linked chronic sleep deprivation to a laundry list of nasty conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. According to the MBoH, lack of sufficient sleep time is also associated with greater risk for drug and alcohol abuse, and depression in teenagers.

It may go without saying that sleep deprivation can hamper alertness and information retention, which can only hurt academic performances. Perhaps more importantly, says the MBoH, some research demonstrates that car crashes declined by as much as 70 percent in some communities that enacted later school start times. Meaning, letting teens sleep later could, indirectly, keep them out of the hospital.

But whether or not everyone in Melrose feels opening the doors to Melrose High at 8:30 a.m. sounds like a swell idea remains to be seen.

“As with any change, some adjustments will need to be made, and all members of the Board of Health are cognizant of that,” said Dr. Brincheiro. “We also understand that change is invariably met with some resistance, and some families may have more challenges than others in dealing with such a transition.”

More info about the Start School Later! initiative can be found here.