Science says teens need more sleep. So why is it so hard to start school later?

I get where you're coming from in that first sentence, but teens are more tired than adults, all things considered. It's a thing we've studied.

We explode into adulthood in just a few years. Growth, hormones and the attendant sexuality and social pressures, all that wears a young person to the bone. Teens aren't lazy, their bodies are kicking their ass. Looking back on the late 80's, it's a wonder I moved at all.

On one hand I say, meh, it's normal, let 'em deal with it. OTOH, I say, can't we all realize the biological facts and make concessions for them? That last part costs real money BTW, there's no magic switch to fix this.

My response was also along the lines of "just go to sleep earlier". Then I yelled at some kids to get off my lawn before complaining about prune prices.

Jokes aside, I remembered that I'm not really a kid anymore, that I used to be sleepy during the day as well, and that I still couldn't fall asleep before midnight.

I don't have a viable solution for this problem. Going to bed earlier doesn't seem feasible. The only thing I can come up with rhymes with amphetamine.

JuSt gO tO BeD eARliEr

They would just stay up later if they knew they could sleep in.

A) Not infinitely

B) Not all of them

C) That doesn't change the actual data we have that says later start times are better

we need to just shift everyones starting time back an hour so their parents can still take them to school before work.

Or... we could stop designing our cities so that that's necessary?

I stayed up late when I was a teenager anyway. My body wouldn't let me sleep.