Is Teenage Sleep Deprivation a Serious Problem?

In this “Ask the Cognitive Scientist” column in American Educator, Daniel Willingham (University of Virginia) addresses the issue of adolescent sleepiness in morning classes. “As many teachers and parents are aware, US high-school students don’t sleep enough,” says Willingham. He quotes research that says, for teenagers, nine or more hours a night is ideal, eight hours is borderline, and less than eight is insufficient. By that standard, 69 percent of American teens aren’t getting enough sleep. The average 18-year-old gets 7.5 hours on weekdays (and 9.5 on weekends). Why the weekday sleep deprivation? Because across all cultures worldwide, teenagers develop a chronotype preference for staying up later. This is reinforced by their hyper-sociability and the omnipresence of electronic media.

What is the cognitive impact of chronic sleep deprivation? Willingham reports that it has a negative effect on executive function (tasks that require maintaining or manipulating information), mood, behavior, anxiety and depression. Students who get less sleep perform less well on standardized tests and are more likely to repeat a grade. Studies in Minneapolis, Wake County (NC), and the U.S. Air Force Academy showed that students who get enough sleep are more attentive and, in most cases, get better grades. 

But surprisingly, the impact in all these areas is not that large. Researchers have found the effect size is .10, which qualifies as “small.” So is adolescent sleep deprivation not that big a deal? Well, there’s still the grouchiness issue and students drooling on their work when they fall asleep in first-period classes, and there is a negative effect, although small, on grades and performance. What should be done? Willingham cites four possible courses of action:

• Parents setting limits on how late teens can stay up – and indeed, kids with parent-set bedtimes get more sleep. 

• Middle and high schools starting later – Districts that have shifted to later hours report positive effects and, surprisingly, teens in these schools don’t stay up later knowing they can get up later. But there are major barriers to shifting to later hours. The Fairfax (VA) schools have considered changing their high schools’ 7:20 a.m. start time no fewer than eight times in the last 24 years and so far have not done so. The reasons: increased transportation costs; parents concerned about leaving teens unattended when they leave for work; the impact on after-school athletics, clubs, and jobs; and the ripple effect on elementary start times.

• Scheduling more-engaging classes first period – These might include electives and physically active subjects.

• Teens being taught explicitly about the reasons they stay up later and the impact of chronic sleep deprivation – This might lead to their getting better at regulating their own bedtimes, including not playing action-packed computer games and watching exciting movies in the hours immediately before going to bed. 

“Are Sleepy Students Learning?” by Daniel Willingham in American Educator, Winter 2012-13 (Vol. 36, #4, p. 35-39), http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/winter1213/Willingham.pdf

From the Marshall Memo #467