Dive Brief:

• U.S. students top the rest of the world when it comes to sleepiness hindering instruction.
• Over 70% of U.S. students are in classrooms where teachers reported that sleepiness negatively impacted teaching "some" or "a lot" in 4th grade reading and 4th and 8th grade math and science on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.
• Despite a Sleep Medicine analysis that showed Asian children having the highest rates of daytime sleepiness due to their late bedtimes, the U.S. still surpasses those nations on teachers reporting that sleepy students limited classroom instruction.

Dive Insight:

Well, everyone's a winner at something, right? In all seriousness, this is an issue that likely impacts other ranking metrics that U.S. schools are so often measured by. While there has been talk in some states and districts about altering the school day so it begins and ends a little later, it remains to be seen if that would just result in students staying up even later and having the same problem — and schools can't really enforce a set bedtime, either. Addressing this problem will take work on the part of officials and parents alike.