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Unveiling the Sleep Crisis: Implications for Adolescent Health,
Academic Performance, and Policy Reform
Figure 2. Distribution of Normalized Grades for all Courses by First Period Enrollment by Cohort

Carrell, S. E., Maghakian, T., & West, J. E. (2011). A’s from Zzzz’s? The Causal Effect of School
Start Time on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents. American Economic Journal: Economic
Policy, 3(3), 62–81. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41238103

The study concludes that early school start times have a negative impact on student
academic achievement. They found that students assigned to first period classes tended to earn
lower grades overall compared to those with later classes on the same day. This effect was not
solely due to poor performance in the first period but extended to subsequent classes on the same
day. Importantly, the findings suggest that delaying school start times by 50 minutes, as observed
in the sample, could significantly improve student outcomes, with the benefits akin to raising
teacher quality by roughly one standard deviation. Therefore, the study underscores the potential
cost-effective benefits of later start times in improving student achievement and calls for
consideration of this policy change by education administrators.

V. Conclusion and Suggestions

The comprehensive analysis conducted on adolescent sleep habits and their implications
reveals a troubling narrative of inadequate sleep globally, particularly among Taiwanese students.
The negative impacts of insufficient sleep range from mental health issues to impaired cognitive
function, increased susceptibility to infections, and heightened risk of neurological diseases. More
importantly, insufficient sleep resulted in lower academic performance. To solve this, we urge the
government to make changes to school schedules. Studies have suggested that delaying school start
times could significantly improve academic performance and overall well-being among students.
Therefore, tangible policy changes are needed at multiple levels to address the epidemic of
insufficient sleep among adolescents through three key aspects:

1. Implementing later school start times can significantly improve academic performance and
overall well-being among students. Education administrators should consider delaying the
start of the school day by at least 50 minutes to allow students to get sufficient sleep and
align with their natural circadian rhythms.

2. Schools should prioritize student well-being over academic rigor by implementing policies
that reduce academic stress. This could include limiting the number of extracurricular
activities or homework assignments, providing adequate support for students struggling with
workload, and promoting a culture of work-life balance.

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