New | Teaching pupils about benefits of rest has no effect on their sleeping habits: study
Results of Chinese University research are nothing to lose sleep over
Offering students special classes on the benefits of sleep had almost no effect on their sleep habits, a Chinese University study has found. But one school which delayed the start of its school day by 15 minutes as part of the study has decided to make the schedule change permanent after it proved popular with teachers and students.
“While the results aren’t as successful as we expected… students were more attentive in class,” said professor Wing Yun-kwok from the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s faculty of medicine. “[Previous] studies had shown that because teenagers’ biological clock is two hours slower than adults, it is actually slightly harder for them to sleep early and wake early.”
Fourteen schools with a total of 4,456 students participated in the study. Some students were given “sleep education” on how sleep could affect health, growth and grades.
The research period was from 2011 to last year.
After a full school year, the study found that students who did not receive sleep education slept an average 8 minutes less than they had at the beginning of the year, while those who did receive sleep education slept an average of 5 minutes less. Students filled out questionnaires before and after the school year in which they answered questions about their attention levels and psychological functioning.
Only one secondary school out of the 14 schools was willing to participate in the second part of the research – delaying the start of the school day by 15 minutes.
Out of the 60 teachers at Assembly of God Hebron Secondary School that were interviewed, more than 90 per cent said delaying the start of the day had a positive impact on students.