– The first hour is usually dull. I am often tired, says Johannes Tholvsen (15). Pupils in 10a at Stord junior high school struggle to get up in the morning. – It was hard today too. It took me maybe 20 minutes to get up, says Mats Sætrevik Endal (15). Mats would have had daylight about 20 minutes earlier if he had bid on Austlandet. Norway has one time zone, but the sun rises later in the west. And the sunrise affects what time it is natural for us to get up. HARD TO WAKE UP: Mats Sætrevik Endal (15) struggles to get up now and then. – Today I spent 20 minutes. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news I think the school day should start later in the West – I’m guessing that in the first hour the kids look a lot more tired in the West than in the East. It is unfair. So says Tone Elise Gjøtterud Henriksen, who is a specialist in psychiatry and senior physician at Valen Hospital in Kvinnherad. She thinks children in Western Norway should start the school day later, writes newspaper Grenda. – That would have led to more people attending school. More would get better and do better at school, most likely. – What about children in Northern Norway, where it is dark? – It is clear that it plays a role, and it will never be completely equal and fair. But snow contributes, among other things, to the fact that it can be darker in the center of Bergen than in Tromsø in the middle of winter. DAYLIGHT AFFECTS THE CIRCADIA: Senior doctor Tone Elise Gjøtterud Henriksen has done a lot of research on how light affects our health. Photo: Eirik Dankel / Helse Fonna Young people sleep too little Fully 85 percent of 16-year-olds sleep too little, according to a study carried out by the National Competence Service for Sleep Disorders in Health Bergen. One of the researchers behind it is Ingvild West Saxvig at Haukeland University Hospital. She agrees that the young people in the east have a slight advantage, but says it is difficult for everyone, no matter where they live in the country. – I think that many people aged 16-17 could benefit from starting school a little later. Young people are biologically inclined to be B-people, and may have problems falling asleep early enough. – How much does mobile use play a role? – It is not a given that they fall asleep late because they are on the mobile phone. I think they are probably also on their mobile phones to a large extent because they can’t fall asleep early. Read also: Scroll more – sleep less FIRST CLASS: Class 10a at Stord secondary school starts the school day on Friday with English. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Sleep expert and professor at the University of Bergen, Ståle Pallesen, thinks the idea of later school starts in Western Norway is interesting. Studies in Germany show that there are more B-people in the west than in the east, and the researchers think it has something to do with the sun, according to Pallesen. – More research is needed on that. We need to find out how big a difference there is in the circadian rhythm of people in Western Norway and Eastern Norway, and what that means in practice. Then you may have to try out a later school start. The whole of society must adapt. Starting school later will have consequences for people other than the pupils. Among others, the teachers also have to push the day. – The whole society has to adapt a little. But it’s only a matter of will, and the payoff can be quite large, says Tone Elise Henriksen. Wenche McDonnell is a teacher at Stord junior high school. She thinks tired young people are not a big problem. – The students are doing well. Here in Western Norway, they are robust, and I think they tolerate the school day as it is. DOES NOT SEE THE NEED: – I think the pupils do well in the morning, says teacher Wenche McDonnell at Stord secondary school. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news The pupils are more open to starting school later. – Yes absolutely. Because then I get a little more sleep, says Thea Sæbø Helland. – I might have learned more. But it’s also nice to be able to come home as early as I do now, says Mats Sætrevik Endal. UNFAIR: Thea Sæbø Helland (14) thinks it’s a good idea to start the school day a little later in Western Norway. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news
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– Children in Western Norway should start the school day later – news Vestland
