Citation

Danner F, Phillips B. J. Clin. Sleep Med. 2008; 4(6): 533-535.

Affiliation

Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536-0298, USA.

Comment In:

J Clin Sleep Med 2008;4(6):536-7

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, American Academy of Sleep Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19110880

PMCID

PMC2603528

Abstract

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of delayed high-school start times on sleep and motor vehicle crashes. METHODS: The sleep habits and motor vehicle crash rates of adolescents from a single, large, county-wide, school district were assessed by questionnaire before and after a 1-hour delay in school start times. RESULTS: Average hours of nightly sleep increased and catch-up sleep on weekends decreased. Average crash rates for teen drivers in the study county in the 2 years after the change in school start time dropped 16.5%, compared with the 2 years prior to the change, whereas teen crash rates for the rest of the state increased 7.8% over the same time period. CONCLUSIONS: Later school start times may both increase the sleep of adolescents and decrease their risk of motor vehicle crashes.

Language: en