ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools rapidly transitioned from in-person to remote learning. We examined sleep- and mood-related changes in early adolescents, before and after this transition to assess the impact of in-person vs. remote learning. Sleep-wake timing was measured using wrist-actigraphy and sleep diaries over 1–2 weeks in Year 7 students (age M±SD =12.79±0.42 years) during in-person learning (n=28) and remote learning (n=58;n=27 were studied in both conditions). Circadian timing was measured under a single condition in each individual using salivary melatonin (Dim Light Melatonin Onset;DLMO). Online surveys assessed mood (PROMIS Pediatric Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms) and sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale – Child and Adolescent) in each condition. During remote vs. in-person learning: (i) on school days, students went to sleep 26 min later and woke 49 min later, resulting in 22 min longer sleep duration (all p<0.0001);(ii) DLMO time did not differ significantly between conditions, although participants woke at a later relative circadian phase (43 minutes, p=0.03) during remote learning;(iii) participants reported significantly lower sleepiness (p=0.048) and lower anxiety symptoms (p=0.006). Depressive symptoms did not differ between conditions. Changes in mood symptoms were not mediated by changes in sleep timing. Although remote learning had the same school start times as in-person learning, removing morning commutes likely enabled adolescents to sleep longer, wake later, and to wake at a later circadian phase. These results indicate that remote learning, or later school start times, may extend sleep duration and improve some subjective symptoms in adolescents.