Research projects

My current research projects are related to the impact of Chronobiology and Sleep on Education. In particular, I am interested in how the school start time affect chronotype and sleep, attendance and cognitive/academic performance during adolescence

First Map of School Start Times (SSTs) in Argentina

What is the mean School Start Time of Argentinian secondary schools? In this project, we sistematically described the SSTs in the whole country and in each state. Schools start vert early not only in local time but also in solar time! This project has important implications for public policies, both internationally and locally. In this project, we systematically describe—for the first time at the national level and by jurisdiction—the official start times of secondary schools across the country. Moreover, considering that Argentina currently adopts a time zone (UTC-3) that does not fully align with its geographical position, and given the country’s large North–South and East–West extension, we evaluate when classes begin relative to local sunrise across jurisdictions and throughout the year. Full results can be found in Working Paper DPP No. 38 from CEPE-UTDT, published on November 13, 2025.

School timing and chronotype modulate sleep during adolescence

Chronotype (i.e. the time of our internal clock) is later during adolencence. School starting very early in the morning are associated with insufficient sleep (i.e. short sleep) at irregular times (i.e. sleep timing differs between week and free days). This is even worse in Argentina because we are particularly nocturnal, compared with other countries,

Does adolescence chronotype differs between adolescents attending school in different school shifts? How long and at what times do adolescents sleep when attend sleep in a morning, afternoon or evening shift?

School start time and chronotype modulate academic success during adolescence

What are the effects on academic performance (i.e. school grades and/or grade retention)? Do the effects depend on the subject tested (i.e. Math versus Language)?

Do school start time and chronotype modulate school attendance?

And late arrivals? how about the absenteeism? Do they depend on the interplay between school start time and chronotype?

Factors modulating the impact of the school timing

Which are the factors that modulate the effect of school start time during adolescence? Age? School subject? School schedules and/or time of evaluation?

Changing the School start time

One strategy to reduce the negative consequences of school start times is start schools later in middle/high schools. There are not studies in Argentina about delaying school start time, not yet!

School start time: local and solar timings

Which is the optimal school start time for adolescents? Is the effect the same if a school starts at 07:45 in both spring and autumn? How about the relationship between school start time and sunrise time?

Other projects (past or current)

My endogenous clock

A free app for mobiles devices which allow users to obtain a self-diagnosis of the health of their sleep and circadian rhythms and to obtain customized recommendations to improve and/or mantain healthy circadian rhythms. More information: www.mirelojinterno.org

Crono Argentina

How people sleep in Argentina? Sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep timing.

(Little) Time drawings

How people represent time in space? What are the shapes of time? and the sizes? How about the time direction? What are the factors which modulate these time drawings?

Daily fluctuations in decision-making

Two key parameters of decision-making are time and accuracy. Optimally, decisions should be accurate and fast. How time and accuracy fluctuate across the day? Can we evaluate these daily variations?

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