US students aren’t getting enough sleep, says a new study by the CDC. The reason? 82% of middle schools and high schools start too early for the students to get the necessary amount of nightly rest.
The average school start time in the US is 8:03 a.m., but the CDC recommends that school begin at 8:30 or later. The Rural Blog noted that several states have start times earlier than 8 a.m., including Colorado. The report warned that lack of sleep can lead to health problems, obesity, bad grades, and even alcohol and drug abuse.
Louisiana’s start time of 7:40 was the earliest in the nation. Only Alaska and North Dakota were found to have sufficiently late start times statewide.