Teenagers in Minnesota are not obtaining the recommended amount of sleep with 50% of 8th graders reporting less than adequate sleep on school nights according to the Minnesota Student Survey. This lack of sleep worsens each year with less than a quarter of 11th grade students obtaining the sleep they need.

 

We are lucky to have 13% of our student in the state starting at 8:30 a.m. or later.  There remains an opportunity for further improvement as 87% of high school students in Minnesota start before the recommended start time of 8:30 a.m., impacting more than 200,000 teenagers.

Several Minnesota school districts have led the way to a later school start times in the last two decades. Additional districts including St Paul, Mounds View and Inver Grove are currently reviewing the research.

In the past few years, more than 200 school districts across the nation have adjusted their start times, due to the research showing the positive impact on teen with later school start times. These communities have prioritized the health and well-being of their children, worked together to overcome obstacles and devised creative solutions to minimize or eliminate any additional costs.