You might not want to let your teenage kids sleep in on weekends

Teenagers who stay up late and sleep in on weekends may have problems getting back to their regular schedule when school starts on Monday.

Teenage kids enjoy staying up late at the weekend and sleeping in longer, but this change in sleep patterns is causing a kind of jet lag when they return to school on Monday morning, according to a Swedish study. The research by Orebro University showed that teenagers who change their sleeping habits at weekends are more likely to skip school on Mondays or feel tired, stressed and irritable in class.

The study of some 2,700 secondary school pupils aged 13 to 16 showed that teenage kids need three or four days to get back into a regular sleep pattern – by which time the school week is nearly over. "As a result, they may be tired and grumpy at school. Studies show that not getting enough sleep may affect learning," says Serena Bauducco, who led the research.