Groggy teens + early school openings = low test scores?
A new study found that teenagers lose nearly two hours of sleep each night during the school week. That sleep loss may be due to adolescents' increasingly busy schedules. Or it may be because their circadian rhythms -- biological clocks -- seem to be set to a later schedule than younger children or adults. This makes it harder for teens to get to sleep early..."We found that there is much less sleep during school days. Teens lose about 10 hours of sleep per week, and on weekends they sleep more," said study co-author Margarita Dubocovich, a professor of molecular pharmacology, biological chemistry, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dubocovich said that later school start times might help improve academic performance.
This makes me wonder why the big admissions tests - LSAT, SAT, GMAT, etc. - have traditionally started so early in the morning. Was the theory that 8 am was when most young adults would be sharpest? Was the test considered less stressful if you got it out of the way early in the day? Was that the easist time to reserve locations and find proctors? Or was it just assumed that the tests should begin at the same time that school/work usually does?
Posted by kswygert at June 6, 2005 10:47 AM