A sleep medicine specialist argues that current school timetables are incompatible with the neurological development of children and adolescents.
Waking a child to go to school at 8 a.m. seems, at first glance, harmless — an everyday routine. From a biological point of view, however, it is like dragging an adult out of bed at four in the morning. The warning comes from Bruna Reis, a master's graduate in sleep medicine, in an interview given to the podcast Consulta Aberta, from the newspaper Expresso de Portugal.
According to the specialist, young people's circadian rhythm is deeply out of step with current school timetables. “Children are still in their biological night when they are sent to school. It's as if we were waking an adult at four in the morning,” she says.
The case of adolescents is even more critical: after puberty, the production of melatonin — the hormone that regulates sleep — occurs later. This means that adolescents have a genetic predisposition to fall asleep later and, consequently, would also need to wake up later.
“It's not bad temper, it really is a biological predisposition,” adds Margarida Graça Santos, a family doctor and host of the podcast.
Science supports simple changes with real impact
Bruna Reis stresses that school timetables, being fixed and excessively early in the morning, clash with the natural functioning of the young body. “If the adolescent lives far away, they have to wake up even earlier, with the night-time hormone still in full circulation,” she explains.
Scientific studies show that delaying the start of lessons by just 30 minutes can bring noticeable improvements in academic performance, mood and even attendance. “Cutting their sleep is penalising them. Sleep regulates emotions, protects mental health and directly influences the ability to learn. They go off to school, and to everything else they have to do, rather ill-equipped.”
