That's why German students sleep badly
Lisa Vogel studied departmental journalism with a focus on medicine and biosciences at Ansbach University and deepened her journalistic knowledge in the master's degree in multimedia information and communication. This was followed by a traineeship in the editorial team. Since September 2020 she has been writing as a freelance journalist for
More posts by Lisa Vogel All content is checked by medical journalists.Almost every third student suffers from insomnia. Sleep is neglected, especially in the higher grades. The 2018 prevention radar from DAK-Gesundheit identified a main cause of the poor night's sleep.
Teachers have to look into many tired faces in the morning. Because many students sleep too little and suffer from sleep disorders. This was the result of a representative survey by DAK-Gesundheit with almost 9,300 students in the 2017/18 school year. Fifth to tenth graders from 44 schools in six federal states gave insight into their way of life during the survey.
In addition to sleeping habits, questions were also asked about diet, daily exercise, psychological well-being and the consumption of substances such as energy drinks, alcohol and cigarettes.
Every third student suffers from insomnia
The result shows that sleep problems are widespread among schoolchildren: every second person regularly suffers from exhaustion and tiredness. These are the most common complaints mentioned in everyday life. Every third student even suffers from insomnia on a regular basis. “At night, the pupils take care of full rechargeable batteries in their smartphones, but they no longer charge their own batteries sufficiently,” comments Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK-Gesundheit.
Lots of screen time, less sleep
It has been known for a long time that the daily time in front of a smartphone, tablet and television has a negative impact on the duration and quality of sleep. Staring at the screens has a negative effect, especially in the evening hours. On the one hand, the rather bluish light is similar to daylight and tends to perk you up. Above all, however, the mind does not come to rest.
Screen time goes up as students get older, the prevention report shows. Almost a third of the ninth and tenth graders spend more than four hours in front of monitors and displays of all kinds. In the fifth and sixth grade, the figure is nine percent.
"Smartphones rob you of sleep"
The students with more than four hours of screen time a day sleep significantly less than their classmates. The trend can be seen in all grades. "The smartphones rob the students of sleep," says study director Prof. Reiner Hanewinkel.
The sleep needs of children and adolescents are very different. However, nine to eleven hours are recommended for children up to the age of 13, and eight to ten hours for young people between the ages of 14 and 17. Ninth and tenth graders with more than four hours of screen time only get an average of seven hours of sleep. This is too little.
Less sleep, more stress
The lack of sleep has consequences: The prevention report shows a connection between the short sleep duration and the stress level of the students. The less sleep students get, the more stressed they feel. This could be a vicious circle: Stress, including that triggered by the media, robs you of sleep. And those who haven't had enough sleep are less productive and thus stressed out more quickly. Half of the girls are often or very often under stress. For boys it is a third.
Snooze your smartphone free
Study leader Hanewinkel calls for effective programs for a more conscious use of digital media in order to prevent health problems. Banning smartphones and laptops from the room at night would be a first step towards better sleep - not just for schoolchildren.
