– You will be more focused when you start the school day a little later. That’s what tenth grader Tilde Breivik Kaspersen (15) says at Hunstad junior high school in Bodø. She is happy that she does not have to start the school day as early as her neighbors in Western Norway. news has previously reported that pupils in Western Norway struggle to get up and are tired in the morning. Therefore, Tone Elise Gjøtterud Henriksen, who is a specialist in psychiatry and a senior physician, believes that young people in Western Norway should start the school day later. She believes that it is unfair when young people in Western Norway are more tired in the first hour than young people in Eastern Norway. Pupil: – Focuses better In Bodø, several secondary schools have had such an arrangement in place for many years already. The students at Hunstad junior high school start the day just under five minutes past nine. Several of them take the bus, and have to get up earlier to get to the first class in time. – If we had started even earlier, it would have affected the learning, says Breivik Kaspersen. – I think it is positive, because then you are more awake and able to focus better on what you have to do, says Tilde Breivik Kaspersen. Photo: Ingrid Gulbrandsen Årdal / news Headmaster: – Youth come well prepared The youth school has no intention of going back to the earlier start of school. NÖGD: The youth school will not return to an earlier school start, according to principal Randi Solvær. Photo: Ingrid Gulbrandsen Årdal / news The benefits of the scheme today are great, says headmaster Randi Solvær: – It works very well. The young person arrives well prepared, has had time in the morning to eat breakfast and to get up properly. We are very pleased with it. Sleep professor: – Something everyone can benefit from Elisabeth Flo-Groeneboom does not agree that it is exclusively students in Western Norway who should start school later. She is a psychologist and professor at the Department of Clinical Psychology, with sleep and sleep disorders as areas of expertise. – I think all young people in the whole country would benefit from starting at nine o’clock instead of earlier. As most young people are, they tend to be evening people, says Flo-Groeneboom. – There should have been a number of other measures, such as better lighting in schools. Then they get enough light to help them regulate their circadian rhythm when they first come to school, says Elisabeth Flo-Groeneboom. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news Today, many secondary schools in the country start school earlier than Hunstad secondary school. One of the arguments against starting later is that young people tolerate starting earlier. – Even though the pupils are robust, that does not mean that we do not have room for improvement, says Flo-Groeneboom. She emphasizes that there are several things that have to be done in the event of such a change. – We had to follow up and see that it actually pays off. A real issue with such a change is whether young people actually get more sleep, or whether they push nighttime activities even further. – Then you make huge adjustments without results, says the sleep researcher. Tenth grader Breivik Kaspersen could not imagine starting later. – But did you postpone bedtime when you have that half hour to spare? – I don’t want to say that I put off bedtime. It depends a little on how tired you are that day. Sleep is not enough But starting school later is not only positive, we are to believe the sleep researcher. Because there is a pain threshold in terms of the rest of society’s rhythm, Flo-Groeneboom believes. At the same time, it is extremely important that these young people get the opportunity to sleep enough when there is so much development in the brain, and a lot of learning has to take place, she believes. And it’s not just about “getting together” for the young people. – Those who are evening people have to work harder for it, than a person with the inclination to be a morning person. It is more difficult for someone who is an evening person to reverse the circadian rhythm.
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– Young people all over the country should start the school day later – news Nordland
