Research links social jet lag to increased adolescent anxiety, prompting calls for later school start times

A new review reveals that teens experiencing irregular sleep patterns between weekdays and weekends may face a slightly higher risk of anxiety, urging schools to reconsider early start times and promote consistent sleep schedules.

A new review suggests teenagers who swing between early weekdays and late weekends may face a slightly higher risk of anxiety, adding to concerns that irregular sleep can affect mental health during adolescence.

Researchers at the University of Southampton examined the idea of “social jet lag”, the mismatch between sleep timing on school days and days off. Writing in Sleep Medicine Reviews, they combined evidence from 18 studies involving 235,526 participants and found a small but consistent link between greater social jet lag and more severe anxiety symptoms in adolescents. The same overall pattern held across the 12 studies that could be pooled in the meta-analysis.

The findings fit with what sleep scientists already know about the teenage body clock. During puberty, circadian rhythms tend to shift later, meaning many adolescents naturally feel sleepy and wakeful at different times from younger children and adults. As Dr Sarah Chellappa of the University of Southampton explained, early school starts and late-night online socialising can squeeze sleep during the week, while weekend lie-ins may deepen the gap between school-night and free-day sleep schedules.

That mismatch matters because previous research has linked later school starts with more sleep and better rest in teenagers. Studies published in the American Journal of Public Health and Sleep found that delaying the school day was associated with longer sleep and, in one trial, improved sleep satisfaction and mood. Other research has also connected shorter sleep duration and greater social jet lag with anxious symptoms in adolescents.

The Southampton team said the results point to more than individual bedtime habits. They argue that schools and wider social systems should take teenage sleep biology more seriously, including by reconsidering early start times. The authors also said that maintaining steadier bedtimes and wake times across the week may help protect young people’s well-being, even if the effect on anxiety is modest.