Thousands of students at schools across this nation, which have pushed their start time back by more than two hours — from a 7:30 a.m. start time to 9:45 a.m. — with, among their misguided goals of easing strains on students that were more visible than ever coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

One student, Khalid Doulat, 18, of Upper Darby (Drexel Hill, Penn.) High School recently was quoted by The Associated Press as saying on April 12 that, as a result of the change, “I’ll be honest, I’ve been much happier in the mornings. I’ve been more positive, and I’ve come to school smiling more rather than, you know, grudging out of bed and stuff like that at 7:30.”

“For some schools, the pandemic allowed experimentation to try new schedules. Large school systems including Denver, Philadelphia and Anchorage, Alaska, have been looking into later start times,” the AP noted.

“The idea of later school start times, pushed by many over the years as a way to help adolescents get more sleep, is getting a new look as a way to address the mental health crisis affecting teens across the U.S.

“For some schools, the pandemic allowed experimentation to try new schedules. Upper Darby, for one, initially considered later start times in 2019. Ultimately, it found a way to do it this year by using distance learning as a component of the school day.

“As students first came back to in-person learning, many dealt with mental health struggles and behavioral issues, Upper Darby Superintendent Daniel McGarry said. Officials saw a breakdown in students respecting the authority of teachers in the classroom.”

The pandemic widened gaps in reading and math. 

“We had a lot of those things that we were facing and we’re still working our way through it; we’re in a much better place,” McGarry told the AP. “I think our kids feel better. They’re not 100 percent better.” But, he said, much of the social anxiety students felt after being in online school has dissipated.

The AP story added, “During the pandemic, soaring numbers of high school students expressed persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with girls and LGBTQ+ youth reporting the highest levels of poor mental health and suicide attempts. It doesn’t help that research suggests middle and high school students aren’t getting enough sleep.”

“These mental health challenges are already going to happen and then, with the absence of sleep, are much worse,” said Orfeu Buxton, director of the Sleep, Health & Society Collaboratory at Penn State University. “The same with decision making, suicidal ideation, those kinds of things.”

The reasons why high schools start as early as they do — many begin their day before 7:30 a.m. — are “lost to the sands of history,” Buxton said. But now, he said, ”everything is baked into that: traffic light patterns, bus schedules and adults’ work,” the AP story said.

We might add that, most importantly, sleep experts recommend no screen time two hours before bedtime — and no cellphones in bedrooms.