Adolescents' sleep patterns, chronotype, social jetlag, school arrival time and sleep duration: Comparisons of three post-secondary education systems in Singapore

Oct 11, 2025Acta psychologica

Adolescents’ sleep habits, body clocks, social jetlag, school start times, and sleep length compared across three higher education systems in Singapore

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Abstract

A total of 2732 adolescents from various educational institutions in Singapore revealed significant differences in their sleep patterns.

Sleep patterns varied significantly among adolescents from different post-secondary educational institutions.
Key variables assessed accounted for up to 10% of the variance in weekday sleep duration.
Different predictors of sleep duration were identified across the three educational groups.
Fewer differences in sleep patterns were observed between male and female students.
Sleep inadequacy among adolescents in Singapore is a pressing concern due to strong evidence of insufficient sleep.

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BACKGROUND: During adolescence, changes to bodily circadian rhythms, chronic disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle and environmental factors are implicated in the development of mental and physical illness. It is therefore important to study the factors associated these disturbances, such as sleep patterns, school arrival time and other demographic characteristics. This study examined the relationships between adolescents' sleep patterns, chronotype, social jetlag, school arrival time and sleep duration among three different post-secondary educational institutions and gender in Singapore.

METHODS: A total of 2732 adolescents from five junior colleges, three polytechnics and three technical education institutions took part in the survey study. There were 1202 male students and 1469 female students (61 did not state their sex), and the students were aged 15 to 19 years old (M = 17.74, SD = 0.84).

RESULTS: The results showed that although students were of similar ages, sleep patterns were different. It seems that adolescents' sleep patterns in Singapore are influenced by different post-secondary educational institutions. Among the three different groups, there were different predictors for school days sleep duration. The results also found that the key variables in this study only accounted for up to 10 % variance in weekday sleep duration, there could be other factors influencing sleep duration among adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides evidence of significant differences in sleep patterns, MSFsc, social jetlag, and sleep duration across three post-secondary educational institutions, with fewer differences observed between the two genders. The sleep inadequacy among Singapore adolescents is a serious concern and this needs to be addressed with urgency given the strong evidence for insufficient sleep.

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Adolescents' sleep patterns, chronotype, social jetlag, school arrival time and sleep duration: Comparisons of three post-secondary education systems in Singapore

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