Anthony Karambelas
9.29.2013
Science III
Teens and Sleep
Summary:
The article Teens and Sleep, by the National Sleep Foundation, is about sleep
and its effects on teenagers.
The first section of the article talks about how sleep is
energy for the brain and if you do not get enough of it, you are prone to illnesses,
injuries, accidents, and are more likely to be moody and disrespectful to others.
Not so fun fact: more than 100,000 car crashes each year are caused by lack of sleep.
The second section of the article consists of key sleeping facts: 1.) Sleep is just as
important as air, water and food. 2.) Teens need about 9 ¼ hours of sleep every
night. 3.) Maintaining irregular sleep patterns (staying up late and sleeping late on
weekends), you can damage the quality of your sleep.
The third section of the article consists of consequences of lack of sleep: 1.) Limits your ability to perform day-today tasks 2.) Makes you prone to pimples 3.) Leads to irritable behavior 4.) Results
in overeating typically junk foods 5.) Heightens alcohol effects 6.) Contributes to
illnesses.
The fourth section of the article gives solutions to prevent lack of sleep: 1.)
Make sleep priority 2.) Take frequent naps to supplement a sleep loss 3.) Make your
room specifically for sleeping 4.) Don’t eat, drink, or exercise within a few yours of
your bedtime 5.) Establish a reliable bed and wake-up time and stick to it 6.) Keep a
diary or to-do list.
The article also states that school have tried making their start
times later and as a result, their students have shown positive increases in focus and
better moods.
The last portion of the article includes NSF’s 2006 Sleep in America
poll data. The poll measured the depressive mood scores of 1,602 poll respondents
on a scale of “1” to “3” (1 being “not at all” and 3 meaning “much”). The poll showed
that 46% of the adolescents surveyed had a depressive mood score of 1, 37% of
adolescents had a score of 2, and 17% had a score of 3. Further study showed that
those with a score of 2-3 were more likely than those with a score of 1 to have more
trouble falling asleep.
The article concluded with a quote by Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., director of Chronobiology/Sleep Research at the E.P. Bradley Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School in Providence, R.I., “If parents and teens know what good sleep entails and the benefits of making and sticking to a plan that supports good sleep, then they might reexamine their choices about what truly are their ‘essential’ activities. The earlier parents can starts helping their children with good sleep habits, the easier it will be to sustain them through the teen years.”
Author’s Research:
To include this many facts about sleep, the author must have researched
much more than I could find. The clear sources they researched were NSF’s 2006
Sleep in America poll and Chronobiology/Sleep Research at the E.P. Bradley Hospital.
General Topic and Usefulness:
This article is about sleep and how it affects the lives of teens. It is a very
informative article and is very useful to me, as I have trouble squeezing in my sleep
on top of homework and living an hour away from school. Even though it is
obviously meant for teens, I can envision adults finding this article useful.
Additional Information:
After reading this article, I would like to know more about what I can do to
encourage schools to create later school start times. Perhaps if schools have later
start times, students will be more attentive. I would also like to know more about
homework and how to best manage it.
Opinion and Recommendation:
This article is very interesting and has made me more aware of the dangers
of lack of sleep. I would recommend this for any teenager to read. They should know
the consequences of not getting the sleep they require.
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