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Later School Start Means Less Sleepy, Happier Teens
Filed under: Tweens, Teens, In The News, Day Care & Education, Bedtime, Tween Culture, Teen Culture, Health & Safety: Tweens, Development: Tweens, Social & Emotional Growth: Tweens, Behavior: Tweens, Nutrition: Tweens, Education: Tweens, Activities: Tweens, Gear Guides: Tweens, Research Reveals: Tweens, Expert Advice: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens, Development: Teens, Social & Emotional Growth: Teens, Behavior: Teens, Nutrition: Teens, Education: Teens, Activities: Teens, Gear Guides: Teens, Research Reveals: Teens, Expert Advice: Teens
Your teen actually does need that much sleep. Credit: Getty Images
Teenagers who have a hard time getting up for school in the morning (OK, that would be pretty much all of them) may not simply be lazy -- they just knows what's good for them.
Starting school later can help adolescents be more alert and improve their mood and health, according to a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
When kids start puberty, they develop a delay in their sleep-wake cycle of up to two hours, which means they naturally go to bed later and wake up later, developing a biological preference for an 11 p.m. sleep time and an 8 a.m. wake time, the report says. Despite that, adolescents still need about nine hours of sleep a night, the study states. Combine that with schools that start as early as 7:20 a.m. and, in many cases, and you get a lot of sleepy teens.
Researchers looked at more than 200 high school students in Rhode Island. For the purposes of the study, the school's starting time was pushed back 30 minutes to 8:30 a.m. The teens also filled out an online questionnaire about their sleep habits before and after the change in start time.
The changes were dramatic: The percentage of students who slept fewer than seven hours dropped by nearly 80 percent, and there was a nearly three-fold percentage point increase in the number of students who said they got at least eight hours of sleep, from just more than 16 percent to nearly 55 percent, the report says.
What's more, the students said they were more satisfied with their sleep and more motivated. They were less fatigued, experienced a drop in daytime sleepiness and made fewer visits to health care facilities complaining of tiredness. They also went to class more.
But that's not all: The extra sleep boosted the kids' moods. The percentage who rated themselves as somewhat unhappy or depressed dropped from nearly 66 percent to slightly more than 45 percent. And those who said they felt annoyed or irritated throughout the day sunk from 84 percent to just under 63 percent.
When consulted, both students and faculty voted "overwhelmingly" to keep the later start time, the report says.
Related: Teens With Earlier Bedtimes Are Less Likely to Be Depressed, Study Says
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
7-07-2010 @ 3:42PM
Mary L said...What ever happened to making the kids go to bed at a certain time, regardless of what grade they are in, If they are in high school and make the choice to stay up late, then dragging the next day should be the wake up call ( no pun intended) that they need to go to bed at a decent time. Now the schools are catering to the babies because they don't want to go to bed by 10, and life is just so hard. Good Gosh, give me a break
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7-08-2010 @ 5:02AM
Kat said...Bull, I know kids who "go to sleep" and actually text on cell phones, play video games, or watch tv. Where is parent responsibility? Over generations, teens have survived getting up early. They have the time to do homework and socialize. If they are that tired, time to introduce them to a afternoon cat nap. Parents need to teach kids the importance of going to bed/sleep at a certain time everyday. It teaches them to structure their time. Oy
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7-08-2010 @ 7:29AM
Cait said...I'm nearly 30, and I still remember being so tired that I couldn't stay awake til lunch in HS. I went to a school that had homeroom start at 7:02am sharp (not 7:20). I would have loved to have a later start time. I'm glad this study came out! Maybe more schools will open later and teens will be better prepared to get better grades, have more energy and more motivation!
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