PROTOCOL: Systematic Review Protocol: Later School Start Times for Supporting the Education, Health and Well‐being of High School Students

Abstract

Non-systematic literature reviews related to later school start times have also been conducted ( Yan 2006; Yan 2007) as part of a Blue Valley School District evaluation in Kentucky, USA and Newton 2010 with the Toronto District School Board, Toronto, Canada (also a co-author on this review). None of these previous studies or reviews has provided a comprehensive, systematic picture of the effectiveness of later school start times for improving the education, health or well-being of high school students because: 1.the scope of the reviews was limited and evidence presented in these reviews may be only a partial representation of relevant studies; 2.systematic inclusion or exclusion criteria were not used; and 3.included studies were not systematically or critically appraised, so we know little about the quality of the evidence. In the review of research that focused on laboratory testing for the impacts of sleep disturbances, sleep deprivation and adolescents' bio-regulatory processes, the following concerns were uncovered: aggressive behavior ( Gibson 2006); memory loss ( Poirel 1987); conflict with teachers, increased irritability and aggressive behavior ( Maas 1995); tardiness ( Gibson 2006; Wahlstrom 2002); falling asleep in class ( Maas 1995); poor self esteem ( Fredriksen 2004); greater risk of accidents ( Dahl 1996); anxiety and depression ( Chorney 2007); pre-frontal cortex dysfunction (inappropriate behavioral responses, negative impact on creative thinking, decreased goal-oriented behavior) ( Drummond 1999; Harrison 1996); slow performance or lapses of performance, slower reaction times, difficulty concentrating ( Sadeh 2003); and low achievement and achievement motivation ( Epstein 1998; Meijer 2000). The second theory about why later school start time interventions might work to support the education, health and well-being of high school students is that implementing a later school start time may better align the school day with peak times for adolescent alertness and potential for learning, and that these factors in turn have direct implications for health and educational outcomes.