Letting teenagers sleep a little longer, and start school a little later, would add over $80 billion to the U.S. economy in a decade, a new study finds.
In the RAND Corporation report, “Later school start times in the U.S.: An economic analysis,” an 8:30 a.m. or later start to the school day would reduce the number of fatal car crashes and help youngsters do better — hiking the chances they’ll graduate and go to college.
“Delaying school start times is a cost-effective, population-level strategy that could have a significant impact on public health and the U.S. economy,” the report researchers wrote.
“From a policy perspective, these findings are crucial as they demonstrate that significant economic gains resulting from the delay in [school start times] accrue over a relatively short period of time following the adoption of the policy shift.”
The result, the researchers assert, would boost the U.S. economy
