Study finds fatigue overlooked in schoolchildren’s wellbeing

Fatigue and low energy play a significant role in how children understand their own wellbeing, according to a study reported by Danish broadcaster DR. Researchers say more attention is needed to understand what causes exhaustion and when it becomes a problem in the classroom.

Camilla Brændstrup Laursen, a medical anthropologist and postdoctoral researcher at Aalborg University’s Department of Medicine and Health Technology, followed and spoke with pupils in the second, fourth and seventh grades at a public school for a total of 60 days.

Energy levels and tiredness repeatedly came up when she asked the children how they felt during the school day and when they felt best.

Her study does not establish whether tiredness and low energy affect the pupils’ learning. But she points to a recent study by Aarhus University’s Danish School of Education, which found across several countries that tired schoolchildren are an increasing problem and that fatigue affects learning.

Exhaustion appeared differently depending on the pupils’ age. Older pupils often became passive, while younger children more frequently responded with restlessness and increased physical activity.

In the seventh grade, pupils sometimes wrapped themselves in blankets, yawned loudly and said they were tired. Others laid their heads on their desks. During one home economics lesson, two thirds of the class were leaning over their desks while a video played on the board.

Laursen said fatigue should not automatically be confused with poor wellbeing. Children’s energy levels fluctuate during the school day, and tiredness is not always a problem. However, she said the findings suggest that children’s bodies may be reacting to something in their everyday lives.

The study also examined movement during the school day. Previously, Danish public schools were required to include 45 minutes of exercise and physical activity, but that requirement was abolished so schools could decide locally how and to what extent to include movement.

Both pupils and teachers said movement could help when children were tired or restless. For pupils, however, movement did not always mean physical activity. Some said they would rather sit on a sofa because they associated the activity with taking a break from lessons and teacher supervision.

The study was part of the project “Body and wellbeing: Schoolchildren’s everyday experiences”, funded by the Centre for Healthy Living and Wellbeing. It was based on observations and qualitative interviews and cannot determine how widespread exhaustion is among Danish schoolchildren.