The latest BC Adolescent Health Survey was reviewed at this week’s School Board meeting in Quesnel and it showed one particular area of concern.
Superintendent Dan Lowndes says while the report focuses on a number of different areas, sleep or more specifically a lack thereof, stood out for Quesnel.
“We noticed that only 13 percent of our students from grades 7 to 12 reported having 9 or more hours of sleep. There were actually more students at 14 percent, getting four or less hours of sleep per night, and we know developmentally that their bodies need at least 10 hours of sleep really to fuel growing bodies and brains to allow for optimal engagement and learning.”
Lowndes says the report didn’t get into why students weren’t getting enough sleep but he says that is some of the work that they will start to look at.
He says the information in this report can be very useful to the District.
“It’s really helpful in gaining insight into factors that impact children and youth in our community, and we use it to really kind of gauge and plan for appropriate interventions and supports for students.”
Lowndes says it’s not just Quesnel students that are lacking sleep, adding that this survey looks at areas all over the province.
He says the survey also looked at other health indicators such as school experiences, other physical health, access to healthcare, mental health and well being, eating habits, substance use, community and social relationships.
Lowndes says the provincial and regional reports are available at msc.bc.ca
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