The massive national education strike, which despairs many parents on Thursday, January 13, allows teenagers to sleep more, and therefore to be in better health.
- Teens need more sleep because their bodies and minds are going through a period of rapid growth.
- Young people should sleep at least 8 hours a night.
While 62% of college and high school staff are on strike this Thursday to denounce the health protocol put in place by the Government, know that the forced presence of your teenagers at home does not only have negative impacts. A new study indeed demonstrates that distance education during anti-Covid confinements has enabled young Swiss people to sleep longer, and therefore to improve their general state of health.
“Have the sleep gains allowed by the closure of high schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic been associated with better overall health of high school students?”, the researchers wondered before beginning their scientific work.
Less alcohol and coffee
To find answers to their question, the scientific team formed a cohort of 8,972 Swiss high school students. 5,308 were included in the control sample and 3,664 in the group that suffered school closures.
After analyzing all their health data, the first observation: teenagers slept 75 minutes more when they were not going to high school, which increased their overall quality of life and lowered their consumption of alcohol and coffee. Second observation: the improvement in the overall state of health could, in certain cases, be offset by the appearance of depressive symptoms in young Swiss people who stayed too much at home.
For a postponement of the start time of classes
“These results should be taken into account when evaluating and implementing school closures,” write the researchers. “They also support the postponement of the start time of classes for teenagers”, they conclude.
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