The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. so teenagers can get healthy sleep.

This should be a wake-up call here where Issaquah School District high schools start at 7:25 a.m. and middle schools begin at 7:40 a.m.

Students have to wake between 5 and 6 a.m., since bus pick-ups that I’m aware of begin as early as 6:30 a.m. — outlying areas in Issaquah may pick up even earlier. These hours are incompatible with known sleep patterns of teenagers, most of whom need about eight-and-a-half to nine-and-a-half hours of sleep per night.

Physiology limits most adolescents’ ability to fall asleep much before 11 p.m., regardless of homework and extracurricular demands, and even healthy sleep habits. Shifted body clocks mean that waking teens at 6 a.m. is like waking adults at 3 a.m. and is akin to shift work.

Just as it’s hard to learn when you are hungry, it’s hard to learn when you have algebra an hour before your biological clock is set to “wake.” It’s also hard to grow and be healthy. Sleep deprivation impairs attention, memory and judgment.

It also leads to mood swings, obesity, substance abuse, immune disorders, depression, suicide, risky behaviors and even car accidents. When schools delay bell times, mood and school performance improve; truancy, tardiness and dropout rates decrease, and teens actually get more sleep per night. Even rates of car crashes decrease.

My family’s busy schedule changes frequently: annually and seasonally with premier and rec sports; every few months, with the selection of volunteer opportunities we partake as a family or for our kids’ community service hour needs; yearly as they enter different grades in school; and it is, of course, always subject to many unexpected occurrences such as illnesses, doctor appointments, business trips, birthday parties and snow days. Even with two working parents, we adapt. The health and wellness of our kids trump any inconvenience we experience.

I am confident that if the Issaquah School District implements later start times, the administration, staff, local businesses and families in our community will continue to resolve any scheduling challenges that they face.

Change is hard, but hundreds of schools around the country have found ways to ensure safe, healthy school hours by prioritizing health and learning. Let’s make our community one of them.

Allison May

Issaquah