Districts throughout the country are slowly but surely switching to later school start time following recommendations from experts in the field.

Now, a group of specialists comprised of doctors who specialize in sleep disorders from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine have released for the first time their suggestions on how much sleep kids should be getting.

"Children ages 3 to 5 should sleep 10 to 13 hours per day, whereas children ages 6 to 12 should sleep 9 to 12 hours per day, the guidelines said. And teenagers ages 13 to 18 should sleep 8 to 10 hours per day, according to the guidelines,” says LiveScience.com.

While the guidelines recommend that kids are getting these amounts of sleep, they also suggest that kids don’t oversleep either.

“[K]ids who regularly sleep more than what's recommended for their age group also may have a higher risk of adverse health outcomes, including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and mental health problems, according to the guidelines,” Live Science said.

Since research has supported kids getting more sleep than school start times afford them, districts have been making changes.

Officials in these districts hope delayed days will eventually help children improve academically by increasing their attention spans and delaying tardiness.

Additional recommendations to benefit kids' sleep patterns is a recent guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics, who recommended that kids turn off electronic screens at least a half hour before bed to get optimal sleep. 

Read the full story.

Nicole Gorman, Senior Education World Contributor

6/16/2016