In 2014, the American Academy of Paediatrics issued an advisory urging schools in the country to adjust start times so that more kids would get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of night rest. Suggesting that instructions begin no earlier than 8.30 am, the group cited significant risks that come with lack of sleep, including higher rates of obesity and depression and motor-vehicle accidents among teens. Consequently, there were sporadic experiments by district schools.

Eight years later, the pandemic has compelled health experts and educators to revisit the issue. Recent evidence-based research suggests that although the virus caused an upheaval in schooling, the flexibility that it offered in scheduling classes allowed some children to catch up on their sleep. Teens were sleeping more because they could rest later into the mornings, and therefore, woke up rested and alert during online classes. All of which begs the question, is there a “right” start time for schools?