Educating the Exhausted: Adolescent Sleep and the Struggle for a Later School Start

The battle to align the school day with the science of sleep.

For decades, sleep researchers have reached the same conclusion: adolescents need more sleep than current school schedules allow. Yet across the United States, most middle and high schools continue to start the day at hours that undermine student health, safety, and learning. In Educating the Exhausted, Terra Ziporyn and Amy R. Wolfson explain why evidence alone has not been enough to ensure school hours that allow for sufficient sleep.

The authors recount the development of adolescent sleep research since the 1980s and the long struggle to bring that knowledge into school policy. Scientists, educators, parents, and health professionals often worked in isolation, while school systems remained resistant to change. Early advocacy efforts stalled, local campaigns collapsed, and frustration mounted even as the research base grew stronger and more consistent. Yet, there has been some progress: broader coalitions formed, communication improved, and sustained advocacy led to meaningful policy shifts, including landmark legislation in California. These changes did not come easily; they required persistence, credibility, and a willingness to navigate political and institutional constraints.

Written by two leaders closely involved in these efforts, Educating the Exhausted offers an account of how research enters public decision-making―and what it takes for science to influence policy.

Terra Ziporyn is the Executive Director and cofounder of Start School Later and author of numerous books on health and medicine, including The Harvard Guide to Women’s Health.

Amy R. Wolfson is a professor of psychology at Loyola University Maryland and a leading scholar of adolescent sleep health.