A blogger seeking a richer life... in a wasteland called the suburbs... for my family, myself, and anyone who will listen!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Teen Brains and Sleep

Something I've wanted to change for a while now is school start time for my teens who wake at 6:00 and 6:30 for school and who verbalize that the early rise is a problem for them, especially my 9th grader who has social studies, math, and science classes first thing in the morning...


Stay up until midnight and sleep until noon?...
The latest studies out of Brown University and Bradley Hospital show that the mid to late teenage years require more sleep for their brains, possibly to recover from the daily assault of information as their brains are maturing and preparing for adulthood... Dr. Mary Carskadan says they need a minimum of 81/4 to 81/2  hours a night.
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

What compounds the problem today is the amount of late day distractions for teens... cell phones, electronic media, and other activities that extend their day later and later.  This lack of sleep may contribute to problems such as ADD, Obesity, and Depression in teens.

NBC Nightly News on the web

Parents please let your school know if this is a problem for your kids... sleep deprivation needs to be addressed in a serious way.  
One of the school districts in our area (Long Island) has changed the schedule and the high school starts at 9am with the elementary school starting in the early am slot... let's speak out at the next Board of Education meeting and let it be known.

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