Citation Information :
Singh R, Suri JC, Sharma R, Das S, Kapoor R. Effect of early school timings on mood and performance of students. Indian Sleep Med 2010; 5 (3):88-94.
Introduction: Early school timings along with delayed sleep phase syndrome causes adolescents to lose sleep during the school week. Studies have attributed insufficient sleep as one of the factors contributing to poor school performance of students. Sleep deprivation can impair memory and concentration, making it difficult for students to learn. Irritability, lack of self confidence and mood swings are common in teenagers, and sleep deprivation makes matters worse. This study compared the academic performance, sleep habits and mood changes in Indian student attending the same school in two different shifts.
Methods: A questionnaire-based cross sectional study was conducted among 834 students of VI to IX standard attending different shifts [Shift I (7:00 am to 1:10 pm) and Shift II (11:30 am to 6:00pm)].The questionnaires evaluated the students for their sleep pattern, duration, napping, quality of sleep and mood. Daytime sleepiness was scored using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Performance was calculated by their percentages in respective subjects and a total score was taken for their overall performance during the academic session.
Result: Baseline characteristics of both the groups were comparable with mean age of 12.9±1.33 (shift I) & 12.9±1.21 (shift II). Shift II students had significantly greater total sleep time with only 19 % of them reporting sleep deprivation (total sleep time<8hrs) as compared to 58% of shift I. Shift I students reported daytime tiredness in 8.4%, napping in 51.7% and sleep awakenings at night in 58.1% which was significantly more as compared to Shift II students. Sleepiness in prelunch classes (P = 0.001) as well as consumption of caffeine/tea (P = 0.0001) was also more in Shift I. Overall performance of shift II students was better than shift I, with students getting significantly better grades in English (P = 0.001) and Mathematics (P = 0.003).
Conclusion: This study demonstrated that early school timings contribute significantly to sleep deprivation among adolescents, leading to daytime sleepiness and poorer academic performance. Apart from delayed sleep phase syndrome, other social engagements may be the contributory factors for the late bed timings leading to sleep deprivation in morning shift students. Further studies, involving students of different socioeconomic group of different cities, are recommended to find the various factors and the extent to which each of them are responsible for change in sleep habits affecting mood and academic performance.
Carskadon MA. Patterns of sleep and sleepiness in adolescents. Pediatrician 1990; 17:5-12.
Dahl RE, Carskadon MA. Sleep and its disorders in adolescence. In: Ferber R, Kryger M, eds. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine in the Child. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders; 1995:19-27.
Carskadon MA, Acebo C. Regulation of sleepiness in adolescents: update, insights, and speculation. Sleep 2002; 25:606-614.
Hansen M, Janssen I, Schiff A, Zee P, Dubocovich M: The impact of school daily schedule on adolescent sleep. Pediatrics 2005, 115(6):1555-1561.
Wolfson AR, Carskadon MA. Sleep schedules and daytime functioning in adolescents. Child Dev. 1998; 69:875-887.
Carskadon MA, Acebo C. Entrainment of sleep and dimlight salivary melatonin onset (DLSMO) in young adolescents using a fixed schedule. Sleep Res. 1997; 26:184
Carskadon MA, Wolfson AR, Acebo C, Tzischinsky O, Seifer R. Adolescent sleep patterns, circadian timing, and sleepiness at a transition to early school days. Sleep 1998;21:871-881.
Kraemer S, Danker-Hopfe H, Dorn H, Schmidt A, Ehlert I, Herrmann WM. Time-of-day variations of indicators of attention: performance, physiologic parameters, and self assessment of sleepiness. Biol Psychiatry. 2000; 48:1069 -1080
Mindell JA, Owens JA, Carskadon MA. Developmental features of sleep. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 1999; 8:695-725
Dinges DF, Pack F, Williams K, et al. Cumulative sleepiness, mood disturbance, and psychomotor vigilance performance decrements during a week of sleep restricted to 4-5 hours per night. Sleep. 1997; 20:267
Hauri P, LindeS. What kind of an insomniac are you? IN: No More Sleepless nights. John Wiley & Sons Inc. New York 1996; 23-42
Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness:the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep1991;14(6): 540-545.
Carskadon MA, Harvey K, Duke P, Anders TF, Litt IF, Dement WC. Pubertal changes in daytime sleepiness. Sleep 1980; 2:453-460.
Labyak SE, Acebo C, Seifer R, Carskadon MA. Adolescent sleep: preliminary report of a week of actigraphy. Sleep 1999; 22 (Suppl 1):242.
Carskadon MA. The second decade. In: Guilleminault C, editor. Sleeping and waking disorders: Indications and Techniques. Menlo Park, CA: Addison Wesley; 1982. p. 99-125.
Weitzman ED, Czeisler CA, Coleman RM, et al. Delayed sleep phase syndrome. Achronobiological disorder with sleeponset insomnia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1981; 38:737- 746.
Pelayo RP, Thorpy MJ, Glovinsky P. Prevalence of delayed sleep phase syndrome among adolescents. Sleep Res. 1998; 17:391.
Shibui K, Uchiyama M, Okawa M. Melatonin rhythms in delayed sleep phase syndrome. J Biol Rhythms. 1999;14:72-76.
Carskadon MA, Acebo C, Jenni OG: Regulation of adolescent sleep: implications for behavior. Ann NY Acad Sci 2004, 1021:276-91.
Rogers NL, Dorrian J, Dinges DF: Sleep, waking and neurobehavioural performance. Frontiers in Bioscience 8, s1056-1067, (2003).
Roehrs T, Zorick F, Sicklesteel J, Witting R, Roth T. Excessive daytime sleepiness associated with insufficient sleep. Sleep 1983; 6:319-325.
Strauch I, Meier B. Sleep need in adolescents: A longitudinal approach. Sleep 1988; 11:378-86.
Leibowitz SM, Lopes MC, Andersen ML, Kushida CA. Sleep deprivation and sleepiness caused by sleep loss. Sleep Med Clin 2006;(1):31-45
Suri JC, Sen MK, singh P, Kumar R, Aggarwal P. Sleep patterns and their impact on lifestyle, anxiety and depression in BPO workers. Indian J sleep Med 2007; 2.2, 64-70.
Singh R, Sharma R, Suri JC, Das S.Is daytime napping a healthy habit in adolescents? Indian J Sleep Med 2009; 4.4, 136-142.
Taub J, Berger R (1973). Performance and mood following variations in the length and timing of sleep. Psychobiology, 10(6), 559-570.
Singh R, Sharma R, Suri JC, Das S. Impact of sleep patterns on mood and academic performance of medical students. Indian J Sleep Med 2009; 4.2, 61-67.
Dorrian J, Rogers NL, Dinges DF. Psychomotor vigilance performance: Neurocognitive assay sensitive to sleep loss. New York: Marcel Dekker. 2005; p. 39-70.
Kjellberg A. Sleep deprivation and some aspects of performance. II. lapses and other attentional effects. Waking Sleeping, 1977; 1:145-8.
Gibson ES, Powles AC, Thabane L, et al. “Sleepiness” is serious in adolescence: two surveys of 3235 Canadian students. BMC Public Health 2006; 6:116.
Ryan ND, Puig-Antich J, Ambrosini P, et al. The clinical picture of major depression in children and adolescents. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1987; 44:854–861.
Morrison DN, McGee R, Stanton WR. Sleep problems in adolescence. J Am Acad Child dolesc Psychiatry. 1992; 31:94-99.
Price VA, Coates TJ, Thoresen CE, Grinstead OA. Prevalence and correlates of poor sleep among adolescents. Am J Dis Child. 1978; 132:583-586.
Millman RP. Excessive Sleepiness in Adolescents and Young Adults: Causes, Consequences, and Treatment Strategies. Pediatrics 2005; 115:1774-1786.