RECOMMENDATION
We recommend turning the lights on completely for students, especially in morning classes. The half lit or lights off classes give students the anonymity and desire to follow their body’s wish and nod off. While it may be slightly easier to see projector images in a dark classroom, projector images are still visible in a fully lit classroom.
ARTICLE
Goal of the Study: The goal of the study was to determine whether or not light exposure in the early morning played a role in the wakefulness of students, as well as to study the difference in brain function and cognition as related to different sleep patterns before and after the start of school. In addition, the study wanted to evaluate the sleep on the weekends verses on the weekdays of high school students.
Hypothesis of the study: The scientists involved proposed that “exposure to bright light in the morning in the classroom might help normalize the phase of circadian rhythms and sleep, as well as improving students’ performances” ( Hansen 1556).
What was measured? 3 classes of AP Bio students kept diaries of their sleep quality, times, restlessness, and whether or not they took naps during the day time. Students also took reaction timing tests, tests to measure “symbol copying, visual search time, and logical reasoning,” and whether or not exposure to bright light at the beginning of the school day affected learning (Hansen 1556).
Graph: The graphs below show that the effects of bright light exposure are inconclusive. From the data found, the scientists could not determine that exposure to light positively influences academic performance.
Major Findings of the Article: Scientists could not prove that bright light positively influenced students’ academic performance. However, they are not completely eliminating light exposure as a possible way to help shift the circadian cycle of adolescents and to improve wakefulness. The study did show that high school schedules are forcing students to perform academically when their bodies are not prepared to do so, thanks to their evening chronotype and circadian sleep cycle.
Citation
Hansen, M. (06/2005). Pediatrics (evanston)American Academy of Pediatrics [etc. doi:10.1542/peds.2004-1649