Time to learn: How chronotype impacts education

Abstract

A growing body of literature has linked chronotype and sleep to school performance. Chronotype is under the control of the circadian clock and refers to sleep timing and diurnal preferences. Chronotype changes with age and is latest during adolescence, giving rise to a mismatch between the (late) circadian clock and the (early) school clock. In general, evening (late) chronotypes obtain lower grades. School performance is influenced by many other factors, such as motivation, intelligence, and conscientiousness. Some of these factors also relate to chronotype. The present paper reviews the literature on the relationship between chronotype and school performance, with the aim of suggesting hypotheses about the mechanisms behind this complex phenomenon and exploring solutions for an optimized school system. Based on the literature reviewed, we hypothesize that chronotype has both a direct and an indirect effect on school performance. The indirect effect is mediated by factors such as conscientiousness, learning/achieving motivation, mood, and alertness. In addition, time of day of testing plays an important role since the chronotype effect on grades is strongest in the morning and disappears in the afternoon. Strategies to decrease the mismatch between the adolescent circadian clock and the school clock could involve light interventions to advance the students' sleep timing, delays in school starting times, and rearrangements of test schedules (tests later in the day).

Chronotype and Social Jetlag: A (Self-) Critical Review

“…The impact that research on chronotype has had on education and school policies is impressive. Starting in the 1990s, several studies have now shown how high-school students are constantly sleep deprived because of their late chronotype clashing with early school starting times and how this negatively influences their health and performance [103]. Some schools have, as a consequence, delayed their starting times.…”

Chronotype and Social Jetlag - a (self-)critical review

“…The impact that research on chronotype has had on education and school policies is impressive. Starting in the 90s, several studies have shown how high-school students are constantly sleep deprived because of their late chronotype clashing with early school starting times and how this negatively influences their health and performance [95]. Some schools have, as a consequence, delayed their starting times.…”

Influence of Sleeping Patterns in Health and Academic Performance Among University Students

“…A recent meta-analysis of circadian preference and academic achievement showed that evening-orientated students were related to worse academic performance [46]. According to Zerbini et al, this effect is mediated by conscientiousness, learning/achieving motivation, mood, and alertness [47].In this context, the objective is to analyze, according to the gender of university students, possible differential patterns related to sleep. This study contributes to filling the gap in knowledge on the influence of students' gender on sleeping patterns.…”

“…A recent meta-analysis of circadian preference and academic achievement showed that evening-orientated students were related to worse academic performance [46]. According to Zerbini et al, this effect is mediated by conscientiousness, learning/achieving motivation, mood, and alertness [47].…”