Psychiatric Disorder, Sleep, Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm, Sleepiness, Daytime
Conditions
Brief summary
The aim is to investigate whether later school start times have positive effects on high school students' sleep patterns, mental health and daytime functioning.
Detailed description
The current study is a randomized controlled study investigating whether later school start times on Mondays and Tuesdays have positive impact on high school students' sleep patterns, mental health, and daytime functioning. 1st year high school students are randomly assigned to classes starting either two hours later on Mondays and one hour later on Tuesday and ordinary school start times (8:15 ± 15 min) for the rest of the week, or to classes starting at regularly school start times (8:15 ± 15 min.) all weekdays. The students will be invited to respond to a web-based survey assessing sleep, mental health, and daytime functioning by the beginning and end of the school year. Official school grades and school absence data will be collected through the county administration for consenting students. Cognitive tests and objective sleep record through Somnofy are planned for a subgroup by the end of the 2024-25 school year. The study will last for two school years and involve two different cohorts of 1st year high school students.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALDelayed school start time
The intervention group will start school two hours later on Mondays (at 10.15 ± 15 min) and one hour later on Tuesdays (9.15 ± 15 min) and to ordinary school start time (8.15 ± 15 min) for the rest of the week
Sponsors
University of Bergen
Haukeland University Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* 1st year high school students at study preparatory program of participating schools
Exclusion criteria
* Parent consent not obtained/documented for participants under 16 years
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Average sleep duration on school days | Baseline and at the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up) | Average sleep duration across the arms will be calculated using the Munich ChronoType Questionnaire (MCTQ), adjusted for nocturnal awakenings |
| Preferred school start time (late vs. early Mondays and Tuesdays) | At the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up) | A conditioned item asking how satisfied the students are starting early or later on Mondays and Tuesdays, or ranging from "Very satisfied" to "very dissatisfied", will be included. |
| Daytime sleepiness on school days | CADSS: Baseline and at the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up). KSS: At the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up)-up | Daytime sleepiness will be assessed based on the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS; adjusted to target sleepiness on each weekday) and The Chinese adolescent daytime sleepiness scale (CADSS). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| School absence and academic performance (self-reported and objective) | Self-reported data: Baseline and end of school year. Objective data: At the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up)-up | Data gathered from school authorities. |
| Mental health | Baseline and at the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up) | Anxiety and depression will be assessed during the past two weeks using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, respectively. |
| Social jetlag | Baseline and at the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up) | Social jetlag, calculated as the discrepancy in sleep timing on free vs. weekdays, will be calculated based on the MCTQ |
| Sleep duration, school days with early vs. late start | At the end of the school year (at about 8 months follow-up) | Sleep duration for late starting days will be compared with early starting days |
Countries
Norway
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORBjørn Bjorvatn
Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Norway
Outcome results
None listed