"Groups Offer Ways for Feds to Improve Student Well-Being"
Nirvi Shah, Education Week, May 11, 2012

"Noting the strong link between students’ health and their ability to learn, health advocates said this week that they want the federal departments of Education and Health and Human Services to make a few small changes they believe could improve students’ academic and physical well-being and work to close achievement gaps."

"Do Schools Begin Too Early?"
Finley Edwards, Education Next, Summer 2012 / VOL. 12, NO. 3
"Of course, increased sleep is not the only possible reason later-starting middle-school students have higher test scores. Students in early-starting schools could be more likely to skip breakfast. Because they also get out of school earlier, they could spend more (or less) time playing sports, watching television, or doing homework. They could be more likely to be absent, tardy, or have behavioral problems in school.
"Later school start times have been touted as a way to increase student performance. There has not, however, been much empirical evidence supporting this claim or calculating how large an effect later start times might have. My results indicate that delaying the start times of middle schools that currently open at 7:30 by one hour would increase math and reading scores by 2 to 3 percentile points, an impact that persists into at least the 10th grade."

"The 3 R’s? A Fourth Is Crucial, Too: Recess"
Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times, February 23, 2009

"New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child’s academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades. ...

"Dr. Brown, a psychiatrist in Carmel Valley, Calif., has collected more than 6,000 “play histories” from human subjects. The founder of the National Institute for Play, he works with educators and legislators to promote the importance of preserving playtime in schools. He calls play “a fundamental biological process.” “From my viewpoint, it’s a major public health issue,” he said. “Teachers feel like they’re under huge pressures to get academic excellence to the exclusion of having much fun in the classroom. But playful learning leads to better academic success than the skills-and-drills approach.”"