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...

NBC Nightly News on the web April 13, 2011

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.

Stripes for Spring

What Prada has done with stripes this Spring is inspirational!... the video from Prada that was on Cheap Chica's Guide to Style blog is so much fun and really communicates the intended spirit of the campaign... with a really 'out there' concept and prices!

Here are some of my favorite affordable options from Zara, Ann Taylor, and Urban Outfitters...

Music,The Met, and a Food Hall

As a visual artist I have always appreciated music as an avid listener up until about seven years ago...   but now that my two teen boys are into music in a big way as musicians,  I've taken an more involved interest through them.

Whenever I see or hear about events related to music my ears perk up, so when I heard about this show at The Met (NYC) called "Guitar Heroes", an exhibit of stringed instruments, violins, mandolins, and guitars, I knew it was something we could make a day of in the city...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This exhibit of "Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York" is on now through July 4th, 2011.

This is now on our list of things to do on Spring Break.

Maybe we'll check out The Plaza Food Hall, which I've heard is a tasty and fun experience for the kids too, especially the Dumpling Bar... you can eat-in at any of eight culinary food stations or take-out specialty foods, cookware, flowers and home goods.

See you there!!!