hupwel bogs ysimss.com/201440/20sheq- for. ‘eemugers!? phpsitied. type=blogsSacton=lickA.petype=Homepageséregion=CCal uméimodule=MostEnailed@version=Fullfiste=me&WT nav=Mostlimailed® r=0 New York Times Hard Lesson in Sleep for Teenagers By JANE. BRODY date ublised OCTOBER 2, 2014 1:29AM date pated tbe 20,2018 11:29 ‘Pity a week of my grandsons’ fst year in high schoo ough ma week of my year in geting sleep had already become an issue. “Their eoncered moter questioned whether lights out at midnight or 3 a.m, and awakening at 7 or 7:30 a.m. to get to school on time provided enough Sleep for -year-olds to navigate a demanding school day. The boys, of course, said “yes,” especially since they could “catch up” by sleeping late on weekerds, But the professional Iterature on the sleep needs of adolescents says others. Few American these day get the hours of sleep optimal for thei age, but ‘experts agree that teenagers are more likely to fall short than anyone else. Researchers report that the average adolescent needs eight and a half to nine anda half hours of sleep each night. But in a poll taken in 2006 bythe ‘National Sleep Foundation, less than 20 percent reported getting that much Test on school nights. ‘With the profusion of personal electronics, the current perentage is believed tobe even wore, A stdy in Fairfax, Va, found tat only 6 percent of children in the oth grade and ony g percent in the sath grade ge the ‘ecommended amountof lep. Two in three teens were found to be severely sleep-deprived, losing two or more hours of sleep every night. The causes can be biologi, behavior! or environmental, And the effect onthe wel-being of adolescents on their neath and seademic potential ~ can be profound, according toa policy statement issued in August by the American Academy of Pediatrics. isnot optional It's a health imperative, ike eating, breathing and Dr. Jilth A. Owens, the statements lead author, said in an Interview. This sa huge isue for adolescents.” Insufficient sleep in adolescence increases the risks of high blood pressure and heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity, said Dr. Owens, pediatric sleep specialist at Children’s National Health System in Washington. Sieeplessness is also linked to risk-taking behavior, depression and suicidal ideation, and car accidents. “Lack ofslep canbe fatal,” he sai, “The level ofimpairment associated ‘with sleep-deprived driving is equivalent to driving drunk. Would you let aid {ove tensed reo orb? Wels gs whats do at every day.” ‘he recommends that parents make geting enough sleep a condition for permission to drive. ‘Schoo! start times on't help the situation. Ina 2008 study in Virginia ‘Beach, where classes began at 7:20 to 7:25 a.m., the crash rate for 16- to 18- ‘year-olds was 41 percent higher than in adjacent Chesapeake, Va., whereschool started at 8:40 to 8:45, The lead author ofthe study, Dr. Robert Vorona ‘of Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, suggested that starting the school day later i vai 2 Insufficient seep also imais udsinent, decision-making skills and the ability to curb impulses, which are “ina critical stage of development in adolescence,” Dr. Owens said. ‘And with the current intense concern about raising academic achievement, it is worth notig that a study by Kyla Wablstrom of 9,000 students in eight, ‘Minnesota public high schools showed that starting school a half-hour later resulted in an hour's more sleep a night and an inerease in the students’ grade point averages and standardized test scores. “When the students were more alert, they were able to get their work done {aster and thus get to bed earlier,” Dr. Owens said. "Ittakes a sleepy student five hours to de three hours of homework.” ‘Sleep deprivation ean also have a nogative effect on mood. Inadequate sleep ‘rises the risk of depression, and sleeping less than eight hours a night has ‘been linked to a neerly threefold increased risk of suicide attempts, after other potential eauses are accounted for. The risk of obesity is also increased by sleep deprivation. A study in 2002 estimated that for each hour of sleep lost, the odds of an adolescent's being obese rose by Sv percent. Pediatricians, parents and schools need to pay much more attention to the sleep needs of adolescents than they now do. When children reach puberty, a shift in cireadian rhythm makes it harder for them to fall asleep early enough to get the requisite number of hours and still make it to school on time. ‘Atteenager’ssleep-wake cycle can shift as much as two hours, making it difficult to fall asleep before 11 p.m, If school stats at 8 or 8:30 (and many start an hour enlier), it’s not possble to get enough sleep. Based on biological sleep needs, a teenager who goes to sleep at 11 p.m. (ha!) should be getting up around 8 a.m. ‘Middle-school and high school teachers commonly say many students are halfasleep or filly asleep during the day's frst period. Adding tothe adolescent shift in cireadian rhythm are myriad electronic distractions that eut further into sleep time, like smartphones, iPods, computers and eeisions. stream of text messages, tees and postings on Facebook and Instagram keep many awake long into the night. Just the light Soma sceencan goin the Roraone nthe Bran that sgl ‘Parents should consider instituting an electronic curfew and perhaps even {forbid sleep-distracting devices inthe bedroom, Dr. Owens said. Although my ‘grandsons, among many others, use a smartphone as an alarm clock, areal, clock that doesn't have Twitter could easily replace it. Beyond the bedroom, many teenagers lead overscheduled lives that can lead toshort nights Sports, clubs, volunteer work and paid employment ean cut seriously into the time they need for schoolwork and result in delayed Ddedtimes. Parental pressure to do well in school can also be a factor. For example, a 2005 study of more than 1,400 adolescents in South Korea, where great ‘emphasis is placed on academic success, found that they avereged 4,9 hours ofsleep anight ‘Ao at risk re any tenagers from low income and minority fie where: ‘excessive noise and safety concerns can make it difficult TE cgh rent ccop. to academy tnteront a. ‘Trying to compensate for sleep deprivation on weekends can further ‘compromise an adolescent’ sloep-wake cycle by inducing permanent jet lag. ‘Sleeping late on weekends shifts their internal clock, making iteven harder to {get to sleep Sunday night and wake up on time for school Monday morning.