Lie-Ins Good For Teenagers At School

Lie-Ins Good For Teenagers At School: According to new research, allowing teenagers to lie in is good for them as it makes them sharper and more alert, and removes the need to rely on caffeine to stay awake. Even allowing teens to sleep for 25 minutes longer improves teens’ sleep patterns and moods, say the researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center in Rhode Island, United States.

The research surveyed boarding school students aged between 14-18, asking questions about their sleeping habits when they started the school day at 8am. The questionnaire was then repeated once students had changed to an 8.25am start. On average, the research found that students slept for 29 minutes longer – and the percentage of pupils sleeping for eight hours or more on a school night also more than doubled, from 18% to 44%. The delay in school start time also significantly reduced daytime sleepiness, depressed moods and the use of caffeine as a stimulant during the school day.

Lie-Ins Good For Teenagers At School

Lie-Ins Good For Teenagers At School

Findings suggested that younger children and those sleeping less at the outset of the study were most likely to gain from the schedule change. In addition, it was also noted that once the original, earlier start time was re-introduced, teenagers reverted back to their prior sleep patterns.

The later start time had no impact on the hours that pupils spent being involved in extracurricular activities, completing homework or playing sports.

Dr Julie Boegers, from the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center, said that:

Sleep deprivation is epidemic among adolescents, with potentially serious impacts on mental and physical health, safety and learning. Early high school start times contribute to this problem.”

In Britain, state schools begin their day at 9am – although many private prep schools and other independents do begin earlier. The Labour Party has suggested that schools should offer childcare from 8am to 6pm. However, last year, the London-based UCL Academy became the first to institute a 10am start time after the head teacher claimed pupils were more alert.

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