When will high schools take steps to protect the health of high school students--and, as a side benefit, raise their test scores?
Showing posts with label sleep for students. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep for students. Show all posts
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Research continues to support later start times for high school students: lack of sleep related to alcohol problems
Research has shown that changes in melatonin levels caused by puberty make it hard for teenagers to fall asleep at a normal time, and that a large percentage of high school students are sleep-deprived due to early start times for classes.
When will high schools take steps to protect the health of high school students--and, as a side benefit, raise their test scores?
When will high schools take steps to protect the health of high school students--and, as a side benefit, raise their test scores?
Monday, August 25, 2014
Students Aren't Getting Enough Sleep—School Starts Too Early
Administrators and teachers frequently benefit themselves at the cost of students. Doctors and researchers have found that too-early start times are harming the health--and the test scores--of middle and high school students. Why don't parents demand a change? It should be an issue in school board elections.
Students Aren't Getting Enough Sleep—School Starts Too Early
These early school start times result in sleepy kids and frustrated parents.
But, as of Monday, those kids and parents have the formidable weight of
the American Academy of Pediatrics on their side.
The organization released a new policy statement saying that “insufficient sleep in adolescents [is] an important public health issue that significantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success, of our nation’s middle and high school students.”
“The empirical evidence [of] the negative repercussions of chronic sleep loss on health, safety and performance in adolescents … has been steadily mounting for over the past decade,” wrote Judith Owens, a pediatrician and the lead author of the report, in an email. “For example, an important recent study published this spring by Dr. Kayla Wahlstrom documented the positive effects of school start time delay in over 9000 students from eight high schools in three states, including improved grades and standardized test scores and up to a 65 to 70 percent reduction in teen car accidents.”
According to the Academy, the solution is to delay school start times. “In most districts, middle and high-schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m. However, individual school districts also need to take average commuting times and other exigencies into account in setting a start time that allows for adequate sleep opportunity for students,” it said in a statement.
The organization also published a report that summarizes the current research on teen sleep trends, health consequences of chronic sleep deficits, factors that contribute to lost sleep, and ways to promote healthy rest in adolescents. The main take-away is that American teens are not getting enough sleep, which damages their mental and physical health, education, and even ability to drive safely.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers need at least nine and a half hours of sleep every night. However, the National Sleep Foundation’s 2014 Sleep in America Poll reports that less than half of American children get at least nine hours of sleep each night, and 58 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds regularly sleep fewer than seven hours each night. Since poll respondents tend to overestimate the number of hours they sleep, actual nightly sleep totals are likely lower than these self-reported averages.
Chronic sleep loss contributes to higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and obesity. Long-term deprivation has also been shown to be a factor in lower test scores, decreased attention span, tardiness, concentration, and overall academic achievement...
Long-term deprivation has also been shown to be a factor in lower test scores, decreased attention span, tardiness, concentration, and overall academic achievement...
--The Atlantic
Students Aren't Getting Enough Sleep—School Starts Too Early
A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics says delaying the day may help teens get more rest.
..The median school start time in this
country is 8 a.m. But this fall, some schools, including a handful of
elementary schools in New York City, will ring their first bell up to 40 minutes earlier than they did last year in order to accommodate curricular demands.
The organization released a new policy statement saying that “insufficient sleep in adolescents [is] an important public health issue that significantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success, of our nation’s middle and high school students.”
“The empirical evidence [of] the negative repercussions of chronic sleep loss on health, safety and performance in adolescents … has been steadily mounting for over the past decade,” wrote Judith Owens, a pediatrician and the lead author of the report, in an email. “For example, an important recent study published this spring by Dr. Kayla Wahlstrom documented the positive effects of school start time delay in over 9000 students from eight high schools in three states, including improved grades and standardized test scores and up to a 65 to 70 percent reduction in teen car accidents.”
According to the Academy, the solution is to delay school start times. “In most districts, middle and high-schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 a.m. However, individual school districts also need to take average commuting times and other exigencies into account in setting a start time that allows for adequate sleep opportunity for students,” it said in a statement.
The organization also published a report that summarizes the current research on teen sleep trends, health consequences of chronic sleep deficits, factors that contribute to lost sleep, and ways to promote healthy rest in adolescents. The main take-away is that American teens are not getting enough sleep, which damages their mental and physical health, education, and even ability to drive safely.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, teenagers need at least nine and a half hours of sleep every night. However, the National Sleep Foundation’s 2014 Sleep in America Poll reports that less than half of American children get at least nine hours of sleep each night, and 58 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds regularly sleep fewer than seven hours each night. Since poll respondents tend to overestimate the number of hours they sleep, actual nightly sleep totals are likely lower than these self-reported averages.
Chronic sleep loss contributes to higher rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and obesity. Long-term deprivation has also been shown to be a factor in lower test scores, decreased attention span, tardiness, concentration, and overall academic achievement...
Saturday, January 19, 2013
27 extra minutes of sleep may make kids better behaved
Click on title below to see video of "Poor sleep linked to bad behavior in children."
27 extra minutes of sleep may make kids better behaved
Michelle Castillo
CBS News
October 15, 2012
Is the secret to good behavior in children a little extra shut-eye?
A new study finds that kids are more likely to be alert and less likely to be disruptive if they added an extra 27 minutes to their nightly sleep schedules.
"In daily life, if you think of the impact of short power naps, usually about 15 to 20 minutes during the day, you can see that this amount of sleep can have a significant positive impact on mood, attention, and well-being," study author Dr. Reut Gruber, director of the attention behavior and sleep lab at the Douglas Institute at McGill University, in Quebec, said to WebMD.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that children ages 5 through 12 get 10 to 11 hours of sleep each day. However, the researchers behind the new study say that most school-aged children don't even get to bed until after 9 p.m., and 43 percent of boys aged 10 to 11 sleep less than the advised nightly amount.
Lack of sleep can cause mood swings, behavioral problems like hyperactivity and cognitive problems, according to the foundation.
Children never sleep as much as experts suggest, study shows
The new study looked at 34 kids between the ages of 7 to 11 who had no sleep, medical, behavior or academic problems who averaged about nine hours of sleep a night. Half the children had their bedtimes moved up one hour and the other children had their bedtimes moved back an hour for five nights. The children wore actigraphs to record their sleep times.
The kids who had their bedtimes moved up an hour slept on average an additional 27.36 minutes longer per night. In comparison, the children who got to sleep an hour later, got about 54.04 less minutes of sleep each night.
Teachers were then asked to record the children's behavior -- including impulsivity, restlessness and emotional ability -- and daytime sleepiness was also measured.
The children who were allowed to sleep more were found to be more alert, better behaved and more empathetic. Those with less sleep were determined to be less alert.
"This opens the door to an effective, feasible way to improve children's health and performance," Gruber told the Toronto Star.
Dr. Dean Beebe, a professor of pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, said to HealthDay that the findings made sense. Though he was not involved with this study, he has looked at teen sleeping patterns and its relation to behavior. Beebe pointed out that extra sleep for one night won't make a difference, but a permanent change may help children.
"It's a lifestyle thing, not a quick one-night [change]," he said.
The National Sleep Foundation suggests that if your child is having a hard time falling asleep, keeping TVs and computers out of their room and avoid caffeine may help. In addition, darker, cool and quiet rooms are better for sleep. Parents should also enforce regular and consistent sleeping habits to ensure their child learns healthy sleep habits.
The study was published online on Oct. 15 in Pediatrics and will be in the November 2012 issue.
27 extra minutes of sleep may make kids better behaved
Michelle Castillo
CBS News
October 15, 2012
Is the secret to good behavior in children a little extra shut-eye?
A new study finds that kids are more likely to be alert and less likely to be disruptive if they added an extra 27 minutes to their nightly sleep schedules.
"In daily life, if you think of the impact of short power naps, usually about 15 to 20 minutes during the day, you can see that this amount of sleep can have a significant positive impact on mood, attention, and well-being," study author Dr. Reut Gruber, director of the attention behavior and sleep lab at the Douglas Institute at McGill University, in Quebec, said to WebMD.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that children ages 5 through 12 get 10 to 11 hours of sleep each day. However, the researchers behind the new study say that most school-aged children don't even get to bed until after 9 p.m., and 43 percent of boys aged 10 to 11 sleep less than the advised nightly amount.
Lack of sleep can cause mood swings, behavioral problems like hyperactivity and cognitive problems, according to the foundation.
Children never sleep as much as experts suggest, study shows
The new study looked at 34 kids between the ages of 7 to 11 who had no sleep, medical, behavior or academic problems who averaged about nine hours of sleep a night. Half the children had their bedtimes moved up one hour and the other children had their bedtimes moved back an hour for five nights. The children wore actigraphs to record their sleep times.
The kids who had their bedtimes moved up an hour slept on average an additional 27.36 minutes longer per night. In comparison, the children who got to sleep an hour later, got about 54.04 less minutes of sleep each night.
Teachers were then asked to record the children's behavior -- including impulsivity, restlessness and emotional ability -- and daytime sleepiness was also measured.
The children who were allowed to sleep more were found to be more alert, better behaved and more empathetic. Those with less sleep were determined to be less alert.
"This opens the door to an effective, feasible way to improve children's health and performance," Gruber told the Toronto Star.
Dr. Dean Beebe, a professor of pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, said to HealthDay that the findings made sense. Though he was not involved with this study, he has looked at teen sleeping patterns and its relation to behavior. Beebe pointed out that extra sleep for one night won't make a difference, but a permanent change may help children.
"It's a lifestyle thing, not a quick one-night [change]," he said.
The National Sleep Foundation suggests that if your child is having a hard time falling asleep, keeping TVs and computers out of their room and avoid caffeine may help. In addition, darker, cool and quiet rooms are better for sleep. Parents should also enforce regular and consistent sleeping habits to ensure their child learns healthy sleep habits.
The study was published online on Oct. 15 in Pediatrics and will be in the November 2012 issue.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Understanding the Zombie Teen's Body Clock
Understanding the Zombie Teen's Body Clock
By SUE SHELLENBARGER
WSJ
October 16, 2012
Many parents know the scene: The groggy, sleep-deprived teenager stumbles through breakfast and falls asleep over afternoon homework, only to spring to life, wide-eyed and alert, at 10 p.m.—just as Mom and Dad are nodding off.
Fortunately for parents, science has gotten more sophisticated at explaining why, starting at puberty, a teen's internal sleep-wake clock seems to go off the rails. Researchers are also connecting the dots between the resulting sleep loss and behavior long chalked up to just "being a teenager." This includes more risk-taking, less self-control, a drop in school performance and a rise in the incidence of depression.
Few parents realize that the common practice of letting teens set their own bedtime can fuel further mutations in the biological processes that knocked them off track. Sue Shellenbarger and Brown University's Dr. Mary Carskadon discuss details on Lunch Break.
Tips for Improving Teens' Sleep
One 2010 study from the University of British Columbia, for example, found that sleep loss can hamper neuron growth in the brain during adolescence, a critical period for cognitive development.
Findings linking sleep loss to adolescent turbulence are "really revelatory," says Michael Terman, a professor of clinical psychology and psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and co-author of "Chronotherapy," a forthcoming book on resetting the body clock...
By SUE SHELLENBARGER
WSJ
October 16, 2012
Many parents know the scene: The groggy, sleep-deprived teenager stumbles through breakfast and falls asleep over afternoon homework, only to spring to life, wide-eyed and alert, at 10 p.m.—just as Mom and Dad are nodding off.
Fortunately for parents, science has gotten more sophisticated at explaining why, starting at puberty, a teen's internal sleep-wake clock seems to go off the rails. Researchers are also connecting the dots between the resulting sleep loss and behavior long chalked up to just "being a teenager." This includes more risk-taking, less self-control, a drop in school performance and a rise in the incidence of depression.
Few parents realize that the common practice of letting teens set their own bedtime can fuel further mutations in the biological processes that knocked them off track. Sue Shellenbarger and Brown University's Dr. Mary Carskadon discuss details on Lunch Break.
Tips for Improving Teens' Sleep
One 2010 study from the University of British Columbia, for example, found that sleep loss can hamper neuron growth in the brain during adolescence, a critical period for cognitive development.
Findings linking sleep loss to adolescent turbulence are "really revelatory," says Michael Terman, a professor of clinical psychology and psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center and co-author of "Chronotherapy," a forthcoming book on resetting the body clock...
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Does your child's high school start before 8:30 a.m.? Shame on those in charge.
Teens More Alert When School Starts Later
Study Shows Later Start Time for High School Can Improve Students' Mood and Motivation
By Katrina Woznicki
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
July 6, 2010 -- A simple half-hour delay in high school start time led to a significant improvement in students' mood, alertness, and motivation, and increased their average sleep time during the week, according to a new study.
Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH, at the Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I., and colleagues studied 201 students in grades nine through 12 attending a Rhode Island high school where the class start time was changed from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for a two-month period. Students completed online surveys before the change in class time and then after.
Owens and her team found that:
* The percentage of students getting less than seven hours of sleep per night dropped by 79.4%.
* Students reporting at least eight hours of sleep per night increased from 16.4% at the start of the study to 54.7% after two months.
* The percentage of students who reported feeling at least somewhat unhappy or depressed dropped from 65.8% to 45.1%.
* The percentage of students who reported feeling annoyed or irritated throughout the day also dropped, from 84% to 62.6%.
* Reports of visiting a health center for fatigue-related symptoms decreased from 15.3% to 4.6%.
* Sleep duration increased on school nights by about 45 minutes and the average bedtime on school nights was 18 minutes earlier.
The findings are published in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Study Shows Later Start Time for High School Can Improve Students' Mood and Motivation
By Katrina Woznicki
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
July 6, 2010 -- A simple half-hour delay in high school start time led to a significant improvement in students' mood, alertness, and motivation, and increased their average sleep time during the week, according to a new study.
Judith A. Owens, MD, MPH, at the Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I., and colleagues studied 201 students in grades nine through 12 attending a Rhode Island high school where the class start time was changed from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. for a two-month period. Students completed online surveys before the change in class time and then after.
Owens and her team found that:
* The percentage of students getting less than seven hours of sleep per night dropped by 79.4%.
* Students reporting at least eight hours of sleep per night increased from 16.4% at the start of the study to 54.7% after two months.
* The percentage of students who reported feeling at least somewhat unhappy or depressed dropped from 65.8% to 45.1%.
* The percentage of students who reported feeling annoyed or irritated throughout the day also dropped, from 84% to 62.6%.
* Reports of visiting a health center for fatigue-related symptoms decreased from 15.3% to 4.6%.
* Sleep duration increased on school nights by about 45 minutes and the average bedtime on school nights was 18 minutes earlier.
The findings are published in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
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