On average, a 16-year-old does not feel sleepy until after 11 p.m. This is related to changes in the biological clock. “But young people need between eight and ten hours of sleep. You cannot achieve that if you have to get up early for school again,” says sleep expert Hans Hamburger.
In addition, secondary school students often have longer travel times than primary school children. As a result, especially in winter, they get on their bikes while it is still dark. “That keeps you in night mode. Sunlight in the morning makes you more alert and helps you concentrate better,” explains professor of neurophysiology Joke Meijer.
According to chronobiologist Thomas Kantermann, too little sleep has a negative effect on school performance. “Starting half an hour or a full hour later, and therefore sleeping longer, is already better. At nine o’clock if, for example, you live in a city and your school is nearby. And at ten o’clock if you live in the countryside and your school is a bit farther away.”
Starting later does not mean that students will also go to bed later the night before. Research shows that their sleep really is extended, the experts say.
Finishing school later?
Several secondary schools are already experimenting with starting later, or have introduced it permanently. One example is Jacob van Liesveldt College in Hellevoetsluis. Lessons there used to start at 8:20 a.m., but for several years now they have started at 9 a.m.
“If you know something about the adolescent brain, you understand that students really like starting a little later. Many of our students also come from the surrounding area, so they have quite a journey. In that case, getting on your bike later is more pleasant, especially because you can also get some sunlight,” says principal Wim van den Eshof.
But not all schools are keen on starting later. According to them, that automatically also means that lessons will continue for longer. Students may then struggle to fit in their homework in the afternoon, or, for example, their sports or music lessons.
In Hellevoetsluis, they thought about that. “We shortened lessons from 50 minutes to 45 minutes. It turned out that we could cover the same material in that time,” says Van den Eshof. Students who want additional lessons in, for example, mathematics can still come to school earlier. These ‘plus hours’ start at the old starting time and count toward meeting the required number of lesson hours.
Morning and evening people
In addition to the starting time, experts see other areas for improvement in the ‘traditional’ school timetable. For example, starting more often with a physical education lesson, preferably outside in the sun, or with another lesson in which students are not overwhelmed by difficult material. Such as watching a film in history class.
Tests and complicated material are best scheduled at the beginning of the afternoon. “At that time, there are no longer any differences between morning and evening people. They perform about equally well then,” Kantermann explains.
Another thing experts say can be changed is the break. “We still assume that everyone is ready for a break at the same time. Let students decide this for themselves. If you are working happily, it is better to finish something first and then take a break,” believes Harold Bekkering, professor of social-cognitive neuroscience.
Most experts consider giving students more control over their own schedules important anyway. Do not set a fixed finishing time either, says professor of cognitive psychology Stefan van der Stigchel. “Schools still think too much in terms of how many hours of lessons they have to provide each week. That should be more flexible: let students go home whenever they want, as long as they have finished their assignments.”
Watch here the video ‘The truth about the ideal school timetable’ by NOS Stories.
Source: NOS op 3