Starting School Later Would Decrease Teen Road Accidents

A new US study says that the time at which school begins influences the number of road accidents involving teenagers, with fewer accidents reported if school starts late. Teen drivers who begin with school early in the morning are more prone to road accidents. The study suggests, since early high school start times may promote sleep loss and daytime sleepiness, students may not be so alert. Starting school later in the morning might make young drivers more alert because they get more sleep. Even an hour's delay improves attention levels and performance. The study has shown that crash rates for teenagers who started school at 7:20am were 41% higher than students who started class 1 hour and 20 minutes later.

Previous studies have shown that even 55minutes longer sleep enhances performance levels of students in tests which require attention.

The study has been published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.


Source-Medindia