University of Zurich's Jenni: Benefits of extended sleep in students 'received little attention until now'

School closures and homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 led to improved health and quality of life for many teenagers, as they slept longer, according to a study from the University of Zurich.

The study found that school days beginning later could be beneficial for young people's well-being, and researchers proposed that school days should begin later to accommodate the natural sleeping patterns of adolescents, according to study co-leader Prof. Oskar Jenni.

"The students got about 75 minutes more sleep per day during the lockdown. At the same time, their health-related quality of life improved significantly, and their consumption of alcohol and caffeine went down," said Jenni, an expert in developmental pediatrics at the University of Zurich. The study involved an online survey with 3,664 high school students, examining their sleep patterns and quality of life during the lockdown. To establish a comparative baseline, the researchers referenced a survey from 2017, which included responses from 5,308 youth, according to the release.

 With the traditional school setting upended, the teenagers experienced a substantial increase in their daily sleep duration, which aided their overall health, the study stated. In addition, the study also unveiled a remarkable trend during the homeschooling phase, in which teenagers reported waking up approximately 90 minutes later on school days, while their bedtime only shifted by about 15 minutes on average, resulting in an overall increase of 75 minutes of daily sleep. Surprisingly, the sleep patterns remained relatively unchanged on weekends, indicating the influence of the traditional early school start times. 

"While the lockdown clearly led to worse health and well-being for many young people, our findings reveal an upside of the school closures which has received little attention until now," Jenni added.

The study suggested that delaying school start times to accommodate teenagers' natural sleep patterns could potentially lead to significant improvements in their overall health and academic performance. "Our findings clearly indicate the benefit of starting school later in the morning so that youngsters can get more sleep," Jenni added.

However, study acknowledged that the pandemic took a toll on young people's mental health, while adding weight to the argument for reevaluating school start times, potentially transforming the educational landscape and enhancing the health and productivity of adolescents, the report stated.