Sleep and Biological Rhythms

, Volume 15, Issue 2, pp 153–158 | Cite as

Impact of commuting distance and school timing on sleep of school students

Original Article

Abstract

The insufficiency of sleep has become a widespread problem. The global development and rise of megacities have resulted in a drastic change in the life style of modern man. Increase in the daily commuting distance of a worker is a consequence of such development that has become a potential cause of reduced duration of sleep in the population. The problem of sleep deprivation persists across individuals of all age groups. An adolescent whose sleep requirement is higher than the adults and pre-adolescent children is also not an exception. The phase of adolescence is associated with the delayed bedtime and earlier wake time due to the early morning schools. In this regard, it is important to know the factors that contribute towards sleep reduction in adolescents. Long travelling distance from home to school is one such factor. This study signifies the combinatorial effect of daily commuting distance and school timing on the sleep duration of an adolescent studying in morning and dayshift schools. Findings of the present investigations revealed that commuting distance and school timings have profound effect on sleep of adolescent school students. The average sleepiness score of morning shift students is more than normal sleepiness level suggesting a chronic sleep deprivation among this group and rendering them to higher risk of excessive daytime sleepiness.

Keywords

Long distance commutation Sleep duration School timing Morning shift Adolescents EDS 

Notes

Compliance with ethical standards

Funding

This study was funded by Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology (CGCOST), Raipur (Grant No. 8043/CCOST/MRP/13, Raipur dated 27/12/2013).

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee (IEC Ref No. 017/IEC/PRSU/2013 dated April 15, 2013) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

References

  1. 1.
    Samuels C. Sleep, recovery, and performance: the new frontier in high-performance athletics. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am. 2009;20(1):149–59.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. 2.
    Paksarian D, Rudolph KE, He JP, Merikangas KR. School start time and adolescent sleep patterns: results from the US national comorbidity survey—adolescent supplement. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(7):1351–7.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Nag C, Pradhan RK. Sleep deprivation and level of C-reactive protein. Biol Rhythm Res. 2011;42(3):209–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. 4.
    Carskadon MA, Harvey K, Duke P, Anders TF, Litt IF, Dement WC. Pubertal changes in daytime sleepiness. Sleep. 1980;2:453–60.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. 5.
    Hansen M. The impact of school daily schedule on adolescent sleep. Pediatrics. 2005;115(6):1555–61.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    Lufi D, Tzischinsky O, Hadar S. Delaying school timing by one hour: some effects on attention levels in adolescents. J Clin Sleep Med. 2011;7(2):137–43.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Owens JA, Belon K, Moss P. Impact of delaying school start time on adolescent sleep, mood, and behavior. Arch Pediat Adol Med. 2010;164(7):608–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. 8.
    Hoehner CM, Barlow CE, Allen P, Schootman M. Commuting distance, cardiorespiratory fitness, and metabolic risk. Am J Prev Med. 2012;42(6):571–8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Emre O, Elci M. To go or not to go†¯: the relationship between commuting and withdrawal behavior. J Bus Stud Q. 2015;5(2):39–51.Google Scholar
  10. 10.
    Hansson E, Mattisson K, Björk J, Östergren PO, Jakobsson K. Relationship between commuting and health outcomes in a cross-sectional population survey in southern Sweden. BMC Public Health. 2011;11(1):834.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  11. 11.
    Kagemaya T, Nishikido N, Kobayashi T, Kurokawa Y, Kaneko T, Kabuto M. Long commuting time, extensive overtime and sympathodominant state assessed in terms of short term heart rate variability among male white collar workers in the Tokyo megalopolis. Ind Health. 1998;36:209–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. 12.
    Pereira EF, Moreno C, Louzada FM. Increased commuting to school time reduces sleep duration in adolescents. Chronobiol Int. 2014;31(1):87–94.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  13. 13.
    Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep. 1991;14:540–5.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. 14.
    Stress questionnaire for students. Ministry of Social Security, National Solidarity and Reform Institutions. http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/suicideprevention/file/student. Accessed 8 Jan 2013.
  15. 15.
    Wahistrom K. Changing times: findings from the first longitudinal study of later high school start times. NASSP Bull. 2002;86(633):3–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. 16.
    Owens J, Drobnich D, Baylor A, Lewin D. School start time change: an in-depth examination of school districts in the US. Mind Brain Educ. 2014;8(4):182–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. 17.
    O’Malleya EB, O’Malleya MB. School start time and its impact on learning and behavior. Sleep Psychiatr Disord Child And Adolesc. 2008;79.Google Scholar
  18. 18.
    Lamberg L. High schools find later start time helps students’ health and performance. JAMA. 2009;301(21):2200–1.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  19. 19.
    Singh R, Sharma R, Suri JC, Kapoor R, Das S. Effect of early school timings on mood and performance of students. Indian J Sleep Med. 2010;5(3):88–94.Google Scholar
  20. 20.
    Dotto L. Sleep stages, memory and learning. CMAJ. 1996;154(8):1193–6.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  21. 21.
    Edwards F. Early to rise? The effect of daily start times on academic performance. Econ Educ Rev. 2012;31(6):970–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. 22.
    Lufi D, Tzischinsky O, Hadar S. Delaying school starting time by one hour: some effects on attention levels in adolescents. J Clin Sleep Med. 2011;7(2):137–43.PubMedPubMedCentralGoogle Scholar
  23. 23.
    Durmer JS, Dinges DF. Neurocognitive consequences of sleep deprivation. Semin Neurol. 2005;25(1):117–29.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  24. 24.
    National Sleep Foundation. Teens and sleep. http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep. Accessed 2 Feb 2016.
  25. 25.
    Seicean A, Redline S, Seicean S, Kirchner LH, Gao Y, Sekine M, Zhu X, Storfer-Isser A. Association between short sleeping hours and overweight in adolescents: results from a US Suburban High School survey. Sleep Breath. 2007;11(4):285–93.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. 26.
    Kong AP, Wing YK, Choi KC, Li AM, Ko GTC, Ma RC, Tong PC, Ho CS, Ng MH, Lau J, Chan JC. Associations of sleep duration with obesity and serum lipid profile in children and adolescents. Sleep Med. 2011;12(7):659–65.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. 27.
    Lowry R, Eaton DK, Foti K, McKnight-Eily L, Perry G, Galuska DA. Association of sleep duration with obesity among US high school students. J Obes. 2012;476914.Google Scholar
  28. 28.
    Vgontzas AN, Bixler O, Lin H, Prolo P, Mastorakos G, Vela-bueno A, Kales A, Chrousos GP. Chronic insomnia is associated with nyctohemeral activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis†¯: clinical implications. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001;86(8):3787–94.CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Japanese Society of Sleep Research 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Pandit Ravishankar Shukla UniversityRaipurIndia

Personalised recommendations