IN MY VIEW... TEENS AND EARLY STARTS DON ’TMIX

TEENAGERS are to be allowed to start school at 10am as part of an Oxford University study to see whether having a lie-in improves their performance.

A recent U.S. study found delaying the start of the school day meant the pupils slept on average 34 minutes longer and there was an improvement in their classroom performance. The inference is that teenagers don’t suit early starts.

Sleep studies have previously shown that the production of the hormone melatonin, which sets the sleep-wake cycle, is altered in teens so they remain awake and unready for sleep until much later than when younger.

But, during adulthood, this pattern changes back, which is why parents find it so hard to understand why their teenage children are not ready for bed at the same time they are. Yet research informs us adolescents have poor decision-making skills and are more liable to taking unhealthy risks. So, at this stage of life, sufficient sleep is essential for many reasons.

But how do you solve the conflict of the teen who does not want to turn in for the night, even when they face an early start for school the next day? There is no easy answer; banning the use of screens (laptops, tablets, phones, etc) beyond a certain time and hammering home the value of regular exercise will go some way to stabilising sleeping patterns.

And if your teenager sleeps a little longer at weekends or during holidays, then try to remember: they are just doing what comes naturally.