Starting school later better for teens

US RESEARCHERS have found that starting school later could improve the quantity of shut-eye for American sleep-deprived teens, which in turn can also help boost health, behaviour, and academic performance.

However, sleep deprivation among teens is also a huge problem in Singapore, where the school day typically starts at around an hour earlier than the 8.30am or later start time recommended by the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, among others.

Average time in bed on school nights for Singaporean schoolchildren is also estimated to be just six-and-a-half hours.

To look at the effect of starting school 45 minutes later, researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, recruited 375 students in grades seven to 10 from an all-girls’ secondary school that delayed its start time from 7.30am to 8.15am.

The team looked at students’ self-reports of sleep timing, sleepiness, and well-being (depressive symptoms and mood) before the change, and re-evaluated the measures again at one month, and nine months later. Total sleep time was also measured. After one month, the students’ bedtimes on school nights were delayed by nine minutes, while the time they got up was delayed by about 32 minutes, resulting in an increase in time in bed of 23 minutes.

The students also reported feeling less sleepy and an improved level of well-being at both follow-ups, with a greater increase in sleep duration on school nights also associated with higher alertness and better well-being.

In addition, those who reported getting at least eight hours sleep on school nights increased from 6.9% to 16% after the later school time was implemented. – AFPRelaxnews