Daylight duration and time allocation of children and adolescents

Ha Nguyen, Stephen R. Zubrick and Francis Mitrou

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This study explores the allocation of time, particularly to sleep, among children and adolescents in response to daily daylight variation. Utilising a dataset of over 50,000 time-use diaries from two Australian cohorts spanning 16 years and employing an individual fixed effects estimator, we uncover a substantial causal impact of daily daylight duration on sleep patterns. Our findings reveal that days with longer daylight hours are associated with a decrease in total sleep duration, primarily driven by a later sleep onset time. Additionally, longer daylight hours correspond to reduced time spent on personal care and media activities, with increased dedication to school and physical activities. Furthermore, we identify socio-demographic factors moderating these effects, such as older age and weekend days exerting a stronger influence on sleep duration, while females and children of unemployed mothers exhibit a subtle impact. These insights contribute to our understanding of how environmental factors shape daily routines and offer implications for designing schedules that promote positive developmental outcomes in young individuals.

Keywords: Sleep; Time Allocation; Circadian Rhythms; Solar Cycles; Children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I00 I12 J24 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Economics and Human Biology 55.Dec(2024): pp. 101435

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Journal Article: Daylight duration and time allocation of children and adolescents (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:122226

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