Effects of Delayed School Start Times on Sleep, Mental Health, and Academic Performance Among Norwegian Adolescents

University of Bergen

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Sleepiness, Daytime; Psychiatric Disorder; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm; Sleep

Treatments: Behavioral: Delayed school start time

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06657482

REK Vest 606094

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim is to investigate whether later school start times have positive effects on high school students' sleep patterns, mental health and daytime functioning.

Full 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.

Enrollment: 200 estimated patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

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

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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200 participants in 2 patient groups

Delayed school start times on Mondays and Tuesdays (intervention condition)

Experimental group

Description:

Two hour delay in school start time on Mondays and one hour delay on Tuesdays. Ordinary school start time (8:15 ± 15 min) for the rest of the week.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Delayed school start time

Ordinary school start time all weekdays (control condition)

No Intervention group

Description:

Ordinary school start time (8:15 ± 15 min) all school days