Postpone the time of mental health lessons for young people?

Adolescents’ biological clocks don’t fit into the schedule Quebec society imposes on them, according to a specialist.

In the United States, for example in California, the law says that class cannot start before 8:30 am.

This measure was implemented in 2019, and has since had larger effects than expected.

The benefits of sleeping in the morning are numerous for teens, who thus get “better academic results,” have “better physical and mental health,” and can be in a better mood, explains in an interview on “Mario Dumont” » Dr. Marie-Hélène Pinestre, Professor Assistant in the Department of Psychology and Counseling Psychology at McGill University.

“What is important to understand is that we often have this idea of ​​lazy teens, who use their phones at night, and don’t want to go to bed. But they already have, on a biological level, a shift in their clock. Thus, they tend to sleep later in the evening, And they wake up later in the morning, ”the specialist explains.

Not only do young adults need plenty of sleep, Ms. Pinestre says, “but especially in the morning”.

So it is not enough to put them to bed early in the evening.

“It’s a bit like being told to go to bed at 6pm, 7pm at night. Even if you had all the best intentions in the world, it would be hard for you to fall asleep. It’s really connected to her biological clock,” she insists.

In Quebec, the logistics of school transportation seem to take precedence over teen well-being, notes Mr. Dumont.

“It’s the same as Malheureux”, acquiesce to Mme Pennestri, who notes that this is the au-delà du transport scolaire, which is said by example, “the syndicates, who don’t have any problems in the course of these benefices-là”, which peuvent expliquer Inventory.

“It will be in our best interest if everyone gets together to think and find solutions,” says the psychologist.