How late start to school day could help kids

New research suggests Victorian students would benefit from hitting the snooze button and starting school later in the day.

Sylvia, 12, says she used to have to get up at 6am to get to school. Picture: Josie Hayden

Teenagers could benefit from a later start to the school day when they return to the classroom, after a world first study uncovered a surprise health benefit to online learning.

Tired teenagers were able to sleep for longer during Victoria’s lockdown with their sleep schedule more aligned with their natural body clock after swapping the school commute for a lie in.

The study, led by the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health’s Dr Julia Stone, used a wrist monitor to compare the sleeping patterns of 59 students, aged 12-13, during normal school and online learning.

The Monash University research found that while they went to bed, on average, 26 minutes later the night before home schooling, they slept in for almost 50 minutes longer.

The students woke up at a “more appropriate body clock time” and reported feeling less sleepy and anxious.

Mum Christine Bulfone said her son Johnny, 14, used to get up at 6am to make it to school on time.

Johnny says he’s been getting up later during lockdown. Picture: Josie Hayden

“Now he gets up at 8am, so he’s sleeping two more hours in the morning,” she said.

“But because they’re making up time in the morning, he’s going to bed later at night.”

The high school student said he hasn’t really noticed a difference in his mood or alertness compared to when he used to get up earlier.

But he said he does prefer having a delayed bed and wake time, even though he gets the same amount of sleep.

“I sort of feel the same (but) it’s better,” he said.

Teenagers tend to fall asleep later than adults due to a delayed release of the ‘sleep’ hormone.

Dr Julia Stone said the body clock disruption — caused by waking up early for school — can hinder student’s cognitive function and learning and lead to daytime sleepiness, poor emotional regulation and low mood.

“Our findings support the hypothesis … that if more time is provided before school in the morning, adolescents will use some of it for sleep, which can be beneficial to learning,” she said.

“The particularly stringent COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne, Australia, provided a unique opportunity to look at the effect of learning from home on sleep duration, circadian timing and mood.”

Originally published as How late start to school day could help kids