Sleep Well, Study Well: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies on the Interplay between Sleep and School Experience in Adolescence

Abstract

Adolescents spend most of their daily time in school and performing school-related activities. Different aspects of their school experiences, such as school performance, psychological factors related to school, and structural factors, consistently impact adolescents’ health and are likely to be intertwined with their sleep (i.e., quantity and quality, sleep disturbances). This systematic review aimed to comprehensively summarize the reciprocal and longitudinal associations between adolescents’ sleep and multiple aspects of their school experience. Using multiple search strategies and applying a two-step selection process, 25 journal articles matched the eligibility criteria and were thus included in the review. The results highlighted the contribution of poor sleep quality and sleep disturbances in predicting longitudinal school experiences-related outcomes (i.e., decreasing school engagement and performance, and increasing school-related burnout, absenteeism, and bullying). At the same time, the results showed how experiences related to the school’s psychological factors (e.g., high levels of school burnout and stressful environment) and structural characteristics (e.g., early school entrance time) affect youth sleep over time (i.e., decreasing sleep quality and quantity). These main findings provided novel insights into the bidirectional relationship between school experience and sleep health, highlighting the importance of more longitudinal research investigating all aspects of healthy sleep, including the size and direction of the association.

Impact of sleep and mental health in adolescence: an overview

“…School burnout, higher levels of school bullying, and increased school absenteeism, have all been associated with sleep problems [10 ]. Although the exact relationship between school experience and sleep parameters has not yet been fully elucidated, it appears to be complex, suggesting that supporting students in obtaining sufficient, high-quality sleep, may positively affect the quality of their educational experience.…”

Das Schlafverhalten von Jugendlichen in unterschiedlichen ländlichen Wohnumgebungen

“…Fast ein Drittel der 11-bis 17-Jährigen berichten von Schwierigkeiten ein-und 15.8 % durchzuschlafen [4]. Diese Zahlen sind alarmierend, da Schlafprobleme mit einer verminderten kognitiven und akademischen Leistungsfähigkeit [5] sowie einem höheren Risiko für das Auftreten verschiedener Erkrankungen, wie Depression [6] Adipositas [7] und Diabetes [8], assoziiert sind.…”

A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies on the interplay between sleep, mental health, and positive well-being in adolescents

“…Developmental changes in the circadian rhythm system (i.e., organism's physiological and biological processes every 24 hours), together with the adolescents' increasing needs for autonomy and social connection, cause a natural delay in bedtime, which contrasts with societal demands for students to wake up earlier than before ( Carskadon, 2001 , Carskadon, 2011 ). This confluence of factors can result in a trend of a shift from morningness (i.e., a preference to get up and go to bed early) towards eveningness (i.e., a preference to get up and go to bed lately) during adolescence, which can, in turn, lead to sleep deprivation and sleep difficulties since its discordance with their school and social schedules ( Fischer et al., 2017 ; Bacaro et al., 2023 ). This is particularly concerning considering the well-established connections between sleep difficulties and increased vulnerability to mental health problems, often emerging in adolescence ( Harvey et al., 2011 ).…”