Should teenagers be allowed to start school later? Survey find kids are sleep-deprived

Senior students want to start school as late as 10am as new research finds more are struggling with sleep-deprivation. Have your say, take our poll.

Exclusive: It’s well known teenagers find it hard to get out of bed, but Aussie kids are now so sleep-deprived they are calling for a later start to the school day.

Research reveals that nearly six in 10 young people have problems getting a good night’s sleep, with screen time (66 per cent), education stress (63 per cent) and anxiety (49 per cent) the top three things keeping them awake.

A survey has found that scrolling on their phones in bed is stopping them from sleeping. Picture: iStock

Only seven per cent said they felt “fresh and energised” on waking, with four in 10 complaining they felt “tired and lethargic”.

The survey of more than 1100 children in Years 10, 11 and 12 found four in 10 want the school day to start after 9am, nearly a quarter saying they would like to start at 10am and one in five wanting a 9.30am start.

The majority (37 per cent) said 9am would work for them with the remaining 20 per cent equally split between an 8.30am and an 8am start.

Bella Seminara, 17, at home in Hawthorne, Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

Bella Seminara, 17, from Brisbane, blamed school stress, scrolling on her phone in bed and a health condition that leaves her with painful joints, for disrupting her sleep.

She said starting school at 8am was so “unbearable” she has decided not to return in Year 12. Instead she has started her own business organising children’s parties, which means she no longer has to get up so early.

“I was falling asleep in class,” she said.

“The overall pressure of school meant I was staying up late doing homework.”

“The lack of sleep made everything unbearable.”

Helen Huynh, 16, of Melbourne, wants the school at 9.30am or 10am so she can get more sleep. Picture: Supplied

Helen Huynh, 16, from Melbourne, goes to bed at 10pm but said worrying about school work left her stressed and struggling to sleep.

She also said she has to have her phone with her at night.

“I need to have my phone with me because I feel anxious and stressed,” she said.

“I tend to look up my friends late at night or listen to piano music to relax and get me to sleep.”

She currently starts school at 8.55am, but wished she could start between 9.30am and 10am.

When on school holidays she wakes at 8am, but likes to have another sleep at 10am because she still feels tired.

School stress and devices are causing teens to have poor sleep. Picture: iStock

Year13, a service offering careers advice, is behind the survey and said teenagers can need up to 10 hours sleep a night, but more than half are getting less than the recommended eight hours.

Year13 Co-Founder Will Stubley said flexible school start times could be a way to increase student wellbeing.

“School students are often in a permanent state of sleep deprivation and hence the big sleep in on the weekend,” he said.

“And of course, a good night’s sleep is vital to their mental health.

“Later start times are a discussion worth having and could be a practical way to boost student wellbeing.”

Originally published as Should teenagers be allowed to start school later? Survey find kids are sleep-deprived