Researchers of the study found many astonishing results proving their theory that more sleep positively affects the driving habits of teens. The study found that when classes were started later, even only an hour, that there was a 16.5 percent drop in the amount of auto accidents among teens. The obvious reason for these findings is that teens that get more sleep are more aware and drive safer.
Fred Danner of the University of Kentucky, a psychologist who co authored the study has said that teens are biologically programmed to stay up, on average, around an hour later than most adults. He also went on to say that the major aspect of the findings has to do with the shift in start times for teenagers who are use to the later start times of the majority of middle schools.
"It's as if they are operating on West Coast time in an East Coast world," Danner said. People blame teenagers' sleep deprivation on computers and staying up late to e-mail friends, he added. "But there is evidence they get phase-shifted by at least an hour. So you've got biology pushing you later and then you've got the school systems starting an hour earlier. By the end of the week, (kids) are a wreck, and our study shows they might actually be in one."
The researchers of the study surveyed around 10,000 Kentucky students that are in between grades 6 to 12. They asked students questions on their sleeping habits as well as they auto mishaps and normal daytime functioning.
The fact of the matter is that fatigued drivers account for around 100,000 accidents a year and half of those accidents are between drivers 16 to 25. The study suggests that teens should getting at least eight hours of sleep a night, however Danner said that closer to nine is probably for the better. The study has also found that an hour difference in the amount of sleep that teenagers get can greatly affect the results of their driving habits and likeliness to be involved in an auto accident.
