The Prince's Trust report suggests that lack of routine is damaging to young people

According to the Prince’s Trust, growing up without a daily routine or structure such as regular bedtimes and set meal times can harm a young person’s school grades and overall wellbeing.

The Prince’s Trust Youth Index reveals how one in ten young people (10 per cent) feel their days "lacked structure and direction" while growing up, while those with lower school grades are more than twice as likely to claim this (26 per cent).

The charity’s fourth annual Youth Index, which is based on interviews with more than 2,000 16- to 25-year-olds, showed that more than a quarter of young people (27 per cent) claim they did not have a set bedtime while growing up. This increases to 39 per cent among those who left school with fewer than five A*-C grades at GCSE. Young people with poorer grades are also twice as likely as their peers to say they did not have regular meal times (30 per cent compared with 14 per cent).

The Youth Index gauges how content young people are across a range of areas from family life to physical health and demonstrated a significantly lower index number for young people who claim to have “lacked structure and direction” while growing up than for their peers.

Martina Milburn, chief executive of youth charity The Prince’s Trust, says:

    "The absence of structure and routine in a young life can have a devastating impact. Without the right support,     directionless teenagers can become lost young adults – unconfident, under-qualified and unemployed."

If you want to read more you can find the Youth Index 2012 here