Starting next school year--just weeks away now--California high schools can't start classes before 8:30 AM, and middle schools can't start before 8 AM. A state law passed three years ago forced the change, so adolescents can get more of the sleep their bodies crave.
Freelance journalist Lisa Lewis, who writes about parenting, played a role in getting the legislature to make the move. Her latest book returns to the subject: The Sleep-Deprived Teen: Why Our Teenagers Are So Tired, and How Parents and Schools Can Help Them Thrive.
Lewis writes of the many problems that pile up for teens short on sleep, and how much more they need. She visits with highlights of her findings.