Teen at Work: The Burden of a Double Shift on Daily Activities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to the evaluate time spent by working and nonworking adolescents on daily activities (work, home duties, school, transportation, other activities, leisure, sleep, and naps). Twenty-seven students, 8 male workers, 8 female workers, 5 male nonworkers, and 6 female nonworkers, ages 14-18 yrs participated in the study. They attended evening classes Monday-Friday (19:00-22:30h) in a public school in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The students answered a comprehensive questionnaire on the characterization of their life, work, and health conditions. Simultaneously, they wore actigraphs (Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc.) and completed a diary of their daily activities (time spent at work, on home duties, commuting, leisure, other activities) for a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 17 consecutive days. The means of the variables were tested for differences by a two-factor (work and sex) ANOVA and Student-t test applied to pair-wise samples (weekdays and weekends). The average duration during weekdays of working time was 7 h 09 min and home duties 0 h 48 min. As for commuting time, there was a work effect [F(1,23) = 4.9; p = 0.04]; mean commuting time was 2 h 22 min for workers (males and females) and 1 h 25 min for nonworkers. There was a significant difference between workers and nonworkers [F(1,23) = 4.6; p = 0.04] regarding extra-cirricular class activities; workers spent a mean of 3 min/day on them as opposed to 1 h 14 min by nonworkers. The average daily time spent on leisure activities by workers was 6h 31 min; whereas, for nonworkers it was 7h 38min. Time spent in school amounted to 2h 47min for workers in comparison to 3h 22min by nonworkers. There was a significant work effect upon sleep [F(1,23)= 10.0; p <0.01]. The work effect upon nighttime sleep duration was significant [F(1,23)= 16.7; p <0.01]. Male workers showed a mean night sleep of 6 h 57 min and female workers 07h 15min. The average nighttime sleep duration for nonworkers was 9 h 06 min. There was a significant interactive effect between work and sex [F(1,23)= 5.6; p=0.03] for naps. Female workers showed took shortest nap on average (36 min; SD = 26 min), and female nonworkers the longest naps (1 h 45min; SD= 35min). Study and employment exert significant impact on the life and activities of high school students. Work affects sleep and nap duration plus the amount of time spent in school and other extra-curricular activities.

Sleep deprivation of working adolescents—a hidden work hazard

“…Several Latin American studies aiming to evaluate work conditions and health outcomes among working adolescents have earlier been published (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Results from these studies show that adolescents who work and attend evening classes wake up earlier and have a shorter nocturnal sleep duration and shorter total sleep duration during the week than nonworking students.…”

Variations in the sleep&ndash;wake cycle from childhood to adulthood: chronobiological perspectives

“…68 Another contributing factor is working status, with adolescents who engage in employment displaying shorter sleep durations and increased daytime sleepiness compared to their non-working peers. [69][70][71] Fischer et al 71 also found shorter adolescent sleep duration to be related to increased smoking and drinking behavior. Many of these environmental and behavioral factors relate to social and emotional maturation and increased independence, and are likely to interact with the biological factors described above in influencing sleep-wake and circadian changes.…”

Later School Start Times: What Informs Parent Support or Opposition?

“…15,17 In addition to biological mechanisms, social and lifestyle factors such as heavy academic load, after-school activities or jobs, screen time, and caffeine consumption also contribute to adolescents' later bedtimes. [18][19][20] Because most adolescents in the United States start school before 8:30 am, 21,22 it is not surprising that the average teen experiences a chronic sleep debt. 23 Numerous reports suggest that delaying school start time (SST) improves sleep patterns.…”