Sleep : school should start after 8: 30

AntonioGuillemF/epictura

Published the 09.10.2017 at 08: 00

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sommeilsanté mentaleadolescence

In France, the adolescents, the more fortunate should go to college or in high school at 8.40, or even 45. But some have to be in class at 8: 15, 8: 00 a.m., or even earlier. They do not, however, get up in the morning, and science gives them visibly right !

A study conducted at the university of Rochester (United States) suggests that adolescents whose day begins before 8: 30 have a higher risk of developing symptoms of anxiety, and even depression. The researchers, whose findings are published in the journal Sleep Health, assert that the start time of the day is critical for the mental health of teens, and that they should not have to go to class before 8: 30 am.

Even if teens go to bed early

These results have been obtained according to the sleeping habits of 197 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years of age. For one week, with their parents, they completed a questionnaire including questions about their sleep hygiene, circadian cycle (to know whether they were rather “evening” or “morning”), the start time of the school, and their mental health, looking specifically at symptoms of anxiety and depression.

“Our study is the first to have a genuine interest in the way in which the start time of the school affects the quality of sleep, even when adolescents do what it takes to get a good night’s sleep, says Jack Peltz, a psychiatrist at the university of Rochester and lead author of the study “.

Researchers have noted that before and after 8: 30am, the difference was clear, on these symptoms. And this, regardless of other factors.

Because it is one of the strengths of this study. The impact of the start time of the day on the sleep often suffers from the propensity of adolescents to bed too late. But here, the study tends to show that this time, alone, has its role to play.