Health & Fitness - Delayed school start = less sleepiness

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Delayed school start = less sleepiness

BALTIMORE (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say high school students with delayed school start time are less likely to report they are sleepy.

Students reported sleeping a mean of 7.03 hours per school night when school started at 7:35 a.m. When school started at 8:15 a.m. the students slept up to 33 minutes more per night. The amount of sleep recommended for adolescents is 9 hours per night.

"Following a 40-minute delay in start time, the students utilized 83 percent of the extra time for sleep. This increase in sleep time came as a result of being able to 'sleep in' to 6:53 a.m., with little delay in their reported school night bedtime," the researchers said in a statement. "This study demonstrates that students given the opportunity to sleep longer, will, rather than extend their wake activities on school nights."

Study author Dr. Zaw Htwe of Norwalk Hospital's Sleep Disorders Center in Norwalk, Conn., focused on 259 high school students who completed the condensed School Sleep Habits Questionnaire.

The findings were presented at the 22nd annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Baltimore.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 06/12/2008

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