AND WE THOUGHT OUR KIDS WERE LAZY!!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2003
AND WE THOUGHT OUR KIDS WERE LAZY!!!
3
Wed, 06-07-2006 - 6:29am

there seems to be a syndrome for everything now. sory the article is long but the newspaper link would not work.
have a great day !

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Article published Jun 5, 2006
Falling asleep in school: Local teens struggle with fatigue from 'night owl' syndrome

ROCHESTER — Sarah Thompson gets a good night's rest once in a while, but often she tosses around in bed and ends up with only four to five hours of sleep. Her mother shakes her awake between 6 and 6:30 a.m., after her alarm has failed her. Those restless nights can affect her school day. A few times a month, the 16-year-old can't help but fall asleep in class.

"I can usually tell when it's going to be a restless night," she says.

Some of her friends have the same problem, and they're not alone. The scientific and education communities are waking up to the fact that teenagers aren't necessarily being lazy when they want to sleep in until noon. They're doing what their bodies tell them to do. The common belief is that teens' night owl behavior is related to their defiant attitudes as they stretch the boundaries of their former childhood. Often that is true, but research indicates that a teenager's brain releases melatonin, the chemical which causes drowsiness, up to two hours later than younger children.

First period study hall at Spaulding, which begins at 7:30 a.m., has its fair share of students catching up on the rest they missed the night before. Chris Young, a freshman from Wakefield, gets about four hours of sleep on school nights. He has trouble getting to sleep any earlier than midnight and he needs to be up at 5 to catch the 6 a.m. bus. He says he falls asleep a lot during class, but having first period study hall helps.

"Sometimes I'm really tired and I can't pay attention," he says.

The National Sleep Foundation recently conducted a study and found that overall, 45 percent of adolescents get an insufficient amount of sleep, listed as less than eight hours. In addition, some adolescents suffer from an underreported condition known as Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. It is common in teens, affecting about 7 percent of them, but rare at other ages.

Dr. Amit Joglekar, a specialist at Frisbie Memorial Hospital, is Board Certified in Sleep Medicine. He stresses that most parents do not need to seek out medical treatment for their tired teens. But, he adds that parents, students and school officials need to work together to create better schedules for kids who have trouble sleeping. Math isn't the best subject to start some teens' days, he says.

Thompson credits Guidance Counselor Linda Durant with helping her fit into a better schedule at Spaulding. Mornings filled with more energetic, engaging classes, like music, allow her to stay awake.

"Depending on the class — on nights I don't sleep — I'll just crash and there's nothing I can do about it," she says.

In 1997, the Minneapolis Public School District shifted high school start times from 7:15 to 8:40 a.m. and noted significant benefits, including improved attendance and enrollment rates, less sleeping in class and less student reported depression. The changes, however, weren't made easily. Some people argued that later release times would affect after school programs and sports, as well as students' part-time jobs. And some teachers prefer the earlier schedule. There was also a question of whether or not later start times would affect school budgets since buses ran on tight, cost effective schedules and later times for buses in the morning interfered with rush hour traffic. But school districts in Kentucky and Connecticut, like Minneapolis, felt it was a good enough gamble to try.

Spaulding teachers acknowledge that kids' days have gotten increasingly busier over the past few decades.

"Part of the problem," notes social studies teacher Alan Stone, "is that kids are overscheduled."

Dave Robbins has been teaching at Spaulding for 27 years. He doesn't see kids nowadays as being any lazier than they were when he was starting, but thinks the culture has changed around them.

"We, as a society, might be expecting more adult behavior from them than we have in the past," he says.
Robbins explains that earlier in the week, one of the school's sports teams practiced until 9 p.m.

"Try going home and going to sleep after that," he says.

Christine Schadler, who teaches biology and environmental science, adds that A block classes, the first ones of the day, are the most difficult by far for the students.

Speaking of a 7:15 a.m. class she recently taught, Schadler says, "With the exception of one, they all seemed to be in a stupor, which they dealt with by eating junk food and soda. After they finish the sugar load, they become frenetic for about 20 minutes and then they crash."

Thompson's sleeping problems don't seem to stem from her eating habits or lack of exercise. She eats healthy food, avoids junk food, walks a lot and likes to dance. And she doesn't watch much television. She drinks tea occasionally following a restless night of sleep.

Dr. Joglekar believes teachers and parents need to work to identify teenagers with sleeping disorders such as Sleep Apnea or Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome and solutions, such as afternoon classes, should be available for them. He explains that adolescents don't necessarily need more sleep than children or adults. Sleep is individualized, he says. But they experience more deep sleep than adults. The Circadian rhythm, or natural sleep pattern, in teens is different than in adults. And the adults in their lives should know it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 06-07-2006 - 8:42am
Good stuff here Pat,
Makes me wonder at times why some school start as early as they do.
Kids need to not be so involved .. MHO
While being busy is good .. there is a limit.
Thanks for sharing this :)



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iVillage Member
Registered: 09-01-2003
Wed, 06-07-2006 - 7:48pm

this article describes my son jeremy perfectly. at times he will fall asleep after a game or practice but in an hour or so he will be wide awke for a couple hours like he had taken a power nap.

i do agree some kids are over scheduled with activity. but , hey, the parent can say no. i did! he was mad at first but then found he had more time with friends and grades improved.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-12-2003
Thu, 06-08-2006 - 2:51am

Great article Pat, and something that is dear to me.