Eyes wide shut: Heritage High students battle sleep issues despite shift to later school bell

SINCE 2022, California law has required high schools to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m., a change backed by research showing that students naturally fall asleep later because of shifts in their circadian rhythms. But neuroscience professors say the change doesn’t serve everyone.

Teenagers vary widely in their biological sleep needs, according to UC Berkeley sleep researcher Matthew Walker. “Some teenagers’ internal clocks run longer than 24 hours, constantly pushing their sleep later; others have clocks that run slightly fast, making early mornings more tolerable.” Because of these natural differences, he explained in an email exchange, “one-size-fits-all school schedules inevitably disadvantage certain students through no fault of their own.”