Sleepy Head
I always feel mildly apprehensive about early afternoon university seminars because they coincide with my sleepy after-lunch phase and I resent the blurry fatigue and heavy eye-lids that come with sitting still at that time of day. Last Friday’s research seminar (1pm-3pm) was no different and I seriously considered grabbing a shot of espresso to sip during the first hour because I knew that I would be at risk of sleepiness in full view of The Professor, my PhD supervisor, who was sitting opposite me in spritely form with no sign of caffeine whatsoever.
The upside of my body’s desire to live in a culture of long lunches and siestas, is that I feel a kinship with all the students whose heads have nodded during my lessons. Twenty-five years ago - as a very new teacher - I worried that a sleepy student meant that my lesson planning was flawed. And then I read more about teenagers’ sleep patterns and how hormonal and cognitive changes during adolescence alter the quality and quantity of young people’s sleep, and when they feel most alert and productive. This is something that I factor into my tutoring schedule because many students struggle with early morning sessions and are much more comfortable working in the late afternoon and evening. My professional rule is that I do not teach after 9pm but I have lots of students tell me that they do their best work after nightfall and would - by choice - go to bed at about 2am and sleep through until the following lunchtime before starting again in their own circadian cycle.
The structure of the school day often challenges young people’s natural rhythms and, at worst, this can mean that only two or three of the day’s six lessons are effective. This compromises significant aspects of a student’s learning over the course of a term and therefore the whole school year. If tutoring is going to address this then it must take place at the best time for a student and so, if at all possible, I encourage students to determine when their sessions take place. This can be difficult in the context of the school timetable and extra-curricular activities but it is vital that a student feels that they have agency over their learning and the self-awareness to know when they study most productively.
For many young people, Covid lockdowns and changes to school routines during the pandemic disrupted their sleep patterns and some have found it hard to re-adjust to regular routines. The Sleep Charity - https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/ - explores these difficulties with lots of very helpful resources and The Teen Sleep Hub - https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/ - addresses them in the particular context of adolescence. In my own life, I acknowledge my body’s rhythms by recognising when I am best able to tackle particular tasks and scheduling my weeks accordingly. In circadian terms, I am a lark who works best in the hours after dawn so early mornings are the time when I tackle my most challenging PhD writing, and I give myself half an hour’s pause after lunch before an afternoon of teaching. I live with a night owl who deal with administration sometime after 9pm and I am always happy to discuss these rhythms with my students because learning how to set realistic and individual targets for their mental performance and study patterns empowers them to take charge of their own learning.