Sleep Cycle Institute Report: Teens and 'College-Agers' Abroad Achieve Better School-Life Balance Than U.S. Counterparts

USA - English

• USA - English

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, April 25, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Sleep Cycle has today released the second report of the recently formed Sleep Cycle Institute, an institute comprised of multidisciplinary health and wellness experts who examine Sleep Cycle's internal data from millions of active users to gain deeper, quantitative insight into how lifestyle choices affect the quality of our sleep and how that, in turn, affects our overall health.

This report looked at more than 12 million nights' worth of sleep data from September 1, 2017 to August 31, 2018, for more than 172,000 teens, aged 15-18, and more than 292,000 "college-agers," aged 19-22 in the U.S. and abroad to determine how they sleep — both during term and when left to their own sleep-wake patterns. It revealed that, especially when school is in session, American students get less sleep and wake up in worse moods than their counterparts abroad.

Sleep Cycle Institute experts also weighed in on how students should sleep to maximize their performance during exam season.

Good Sleep Hygiene for High Achievers

With the school year coming to a close, college students and high schoolers around the country will be tempted to pull all-nighters to study for finals and standardized tests. But natural sleep expert and Sleep Cycle Institute panelist Dr. Catherine Darley cautions against that tactic. "Sleep is needed for both the formation of memories and their retrieval, so getting the right amount of sleep each night matters," she said.

Instead, she said, students should:

● Stick to a sleep schedule. Studies show improved grades and test scores in people who maintain regular sleep and wake hours. Exam preppers should aim to go to bed and wake up within the same hour each day.
● Study when they are most alert. For young people, this is often 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
● Avoid skimping on sleep. Motivation decreases with sleep deprivation. Getting the sleep they need will help keep students focused on studying.
● Strengthen their circadian rhythm. Students should get some bright outside light soon after waking and avoid bright light — including from electronic devices — during the hour before bed. If they need to study late, they should go analog: write out facts they've memorized, quiz a classmate or read an actual book.
● Avoid stimulants (like caffeine) and depressants (like alcohol). Both will interfere with their natural sleep rhythms. And while alcohol may help them fall asleep initially, it will result in disrupted sleep later in the night.

Everybody's Workin' for the Weekend

The Sleep Cycle data shows that, even when it isn't exam season, American teens don't get enough sleep. Compared to teens abroad, teens in the U.S. average 15 minutes less sleep each night and wake up in a significantly worse mood:    

School Nights        Bed time            Wake up         Total sleep time            Wake up mood

U.S. teens:             11:35 p.m.        6:50 a.m.         7 hrs 15 mins                    56.9%

Teens abroad:         11:46 p.m.        7:14 a.m.         7 hrs 28 mins                     61.8%    

However, their sleep patterns during school vacations are almost identical to those of teens in other countries:

Vacation             Bed time         Wake up     Total sleep time    Wake up mood

U.S. teens:         12:10 a.m.     7:47 a.m.     7 hrs 37 mins             59.6%

Teens abroad:     12:21 a.m.     7:58 a.m.     7 hrs 37 mins             63.4%

"What we're seeing here is that teens abroad have schedules that allow later wake time, aligning more closely with their natural sleep habits and needs," said Dr. Darley. "We think that teens need 8-10 hours of sleep a night; some need even more. If a person is sleeping more on weekends, it's a sign they're not getting enough sleep during the school week."

The Other Freshman 15

So-called "college-agers" enjoy a greater school-life balance, and achieve more regular sleep patterns year-round.

Freed from their draconian high school schedules, U.S. college-agers also pick up most of the extra 15 minutes of sleep their non-U.S. counterparts were getting during high school:

School Nights                 Bed time            Wake up         Total sleep time     Wake up mood

U.S. college-agers:         12:24 a.m.         7:48 a.m.        7 hrs 24 mins             58.7%

College-agers abroad:     12:24 a.m.         7:49 a.m.        7 hrs 25 mins             62.7%    

Vacation                          Bed time            Wake up         Total sleep time     Wake up mood

U.S. college-agers:         12:20 a.m.             7:52 a.m.     7 hrs 32 mins             59.8%

College-agers abroad:        12:39 a.m.            8:06 a.m.     7 hrs 27 mins             63.3%    

About Sleep Cycle
Sleep Cycle is the world's most popular intelligent alarm clock app that analyzes users' sleep, records findings and wakes them during their lightest sleep phase so they feel rested and refreshed. The app generates nightly sleep reports, tracks long-term sleep trends, and logs how daily activities impact sleep quality. With millions of users worldwide, Sleep Cycle has also become the world's richest repository of data on global sleep habits. The newly formed Sleep Cycle Institute puts this data in the hands of five multidisciplinary health and wellness experts to provide individuals and public policy makers with deeper quantitative insights into the relationship between sleep and overall health and well-being.

For more information — and real-time, interactive sleep data from around the world — visit https://www.sleepcycle.com/.

SOURCE Sleep Cycle Institute