Dr. Judith Owens of Boston Children’s Hospital came to give a presentation about the amount of sleep adolescents were receiving. The title of the presentation was “The ABCs of ZZZs: What every parent needs to know about the importance of sleep in kids and teens.”

Owens spoke about the the dangers of sleep loss, such as drowsy driving, risk-taking behaviors and obesity. She went on to explain that starting school later could result in benefits such as increased GPAs and better attendance.

Members of the Wayland chapter of the Start School Later organization were handing out pins and pamphlets about the organization.

Afterward, there was a Q&A period where several members of the audience asked questions.

Suzanne Murphy, parent of a Wayland 6th grader and 4th grader, found the presentation to be “very helpful” and was “impressed by the other school system personnel who came to hear about the advantages [of pushing the school start time later].”

However, Murphy was disappointed about how much of the discussion on moving school start times back was centered around accommodating athletics.

“I think that people need to have a further discussion about where their priorities lie [regarding the role of athletics] in making decisions,” Murphy said.

Jenny Silberman, who has a child in 8th grade, co-founded the Wayland chapter of Start School Later with Kim Reichelt, another Wayland parent. Silberman and Reichelt worked with Walden Forum to set up the presentation by Owens.

According to Silberman, the Wayland chapter has been meeting with the School Committee and observing how other towns are working on moving back school start times for their high schools and middle schools. Silberman felt the presentation was successful.

“I think that people left knowing a lot more than when they came in,” Silberman said.