Teenagers Lose Sleep Following Daylight Saving Time

New findings published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine reveal that high school students lose sleep on during daylight saving time, which occurs in March.

The study findings showed that loss of sleep during the school week was linked to both a decline in vigilance as well as cognitive function--raising concerns, in particular, for teen drivers.

During the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from 35 high school students around the age of 17. The researchers measured nightly sleep duration at home by actigraphy during the weeks prior to and after the change to daylight savings time. Participants were also required to complete a sleep diary to report subjective sleep measures. Researchers used both the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) to measure daytime sleepiness and vivigilance in participants.

Findings revealed that the average objectively measured sleep duration on weeknights after the spring time change declined by 7 hours and 19 minutes, reflecting a mean loss of 32 minutes per night when compared to the school week prior to the implementation of daylight savings time. Furthermore, average cumulative sleep loss on weeknights following the time change was 2 hours, 42 minutes. During school days after the time change, students also displayed increased sleepiness as well as declined psychomotor vigilance, with longer reaction times and increased lapses of attention.

Previous studies have shown that oftentimes, young adults are not getting the recommended amounts of sleep, which are essential for function and development. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that adolescents get at least nine hours a night.

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