This is actually a good question that people may not read into very well, and the OP probably knows but didn’t indicate:
Humans have a circidian rhthym which is a component that indicates when you naturally want to wake up and sleep. Thoughout our lives it changes at different points, but the important point is that for teenagers, they want to be up at night and also wake up later(almost the exact opposite of elderly people).
So trying to make students sleep at 10pm is very difficult vs having school start later to allow classes to better match their sleep cycle.
From an evolutionary point of view, I wonder if it has to do with giving them plenty of evening time for sexual activities. Especially since 30 used to be old age at one point in our past, so teenage years were the childbearing years…
Why not just go to bed earlier?
This is actually a good question that people may not read into very well, and the OP probably knows but didn’t indicate: Humans have a circidian rhthym which is a component that indicates when you naturally want to wake up and sleep. Thoughout our lives it changes at different points, but the important point is that for teenagers, they want to be up at night and also wake up later(almost the exact opposite of elderly people).
So trying to make students sleep at 10pm is very difficult vs having school start later to allow classes to better match their sleep cycle.
Additionally, many people who have been well and truly diagnosed with ADHD also experience Delayed Circadian Rhythm which makes them into night owls.
School districts that have shifted to a later start, especially for 12 and up (age wise), have seen improvements in attendance, behavior, and grades.
From an evolutionary point of view, I wonder if it has to do with giving them plenty of evening time for sexual activities. Especially since 30 used to be old age at one point in our past, so teenage years were the childbearing years…