The Pickerington Schools are pushing the start time for high school students back by 30 minutes to 7:55 a.m.. The school year begins next week. Officials say it's part of a district-wide program to help students improve their grades by giving them more time to rest. Cleveland Clinic physician Harneet Walia suggests parents change a child's sleep schedule incrementally so the child is prepared to wake up in time for school.
Walia says this is because the bodies of kids between the ages of twelve and 18 are wired to operate on a delayed sleep cycle.
Walia says teenagers require nine to nine-and-a-half hours a night of sleep, more than the average adult. Signs of sleep deprivation include irritability and impaired concentration. She says sleep deprivation also puts a person at greater risk of depression, diabetes and obesity.
