- The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way schools held classes, with many students taking courses online.
- Online coursework meant that many students were able to sleep later and get more sleep.
- Experts say puberty pushes our internal clock an hour or two ahead, and late start times are more in sync with this.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to allow students enough time to sleep.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, schools began to change the way children were educated in an attempt to limit social interactions and slow the spread of the virus.
Methods varied across the country, ranging from continued in-person instruction to coursework being conducted entirely online. Many schools also used hybrid instruction, with a combination of on-campus and online teaching.
With these changes in teaching, there also came a great deal of variation in class schedules. Some students continued to have planned interactions with their teachers, while others were able to create their own study times.
According to a new study in the journal Sleep, one result of this new way of conducting school was that students who were engaged in remote learning got a lot more sleep.
In fact, those who were doing their schooling online without live classes or scheduled teacher interactions woke up later and got the most sleep, the study authors said.
On the other hand, those who attended in-person classes woke the earliest and got the least sleep.
Source: healthline