Bedford Board of Health’s Statement Urging the Bedford School Committee to Adopt Sleep Friendly School Start Times for BHS and JGMS Students
The Bedford Board of Health recognizes the compelling 30 years of research on the circadian rhythms of adolescents that clearly documents the positive outcomes associated with school start times of 8:30 AM or later for adolescents. Nationwide data in 2015 indicated that 6 out of 10 middle schoolers and 7 out of 10 high schoolers do not get enough sleep. The Board of Health considers sleep friendly school start times an important public health issue for the following reasons:
- Insufficient sleep significantly impacts the health and safety, as well as academic success, of middle and high school students;
- Specifically, lack of sleep for adolescents can affect mood, attention, memory, behavior control and impulse control. It can also lead to reduced academic achievement, higher rates of absenteeism, increased use of stimulants, greater risk of car accidents due to drowsiness and health problems such as obesity and diabetes;
- School start times before 8:30 AM contribute to insufficient sleep in this population; and
- Delaying school is an effective countermeasure to chronic sleep loss and benefits students’ physical and mental health, safety, and academic achievement.
The Board of Health acknowledge the challenges inherent to the school community in implementing later school start times for its adolescent students. Other Massachusetts communities have embraced the scientific data, made a commitment to address what is best for all students, and successfully made the changes necessitated by start time changes.
The Board of Health unanimously recommends that the School Committee vote to adopt later start times for our middle and high school students.
Adopted May 19, 2025