Science Friday Kids' Connection^tm -- in association with Kidsnet
Sleepy Teens (March 31, 2006, One)

Program Summary | Guests | Related Links and Resources | For Discussion | Activities | Hear the program | About Kids Connection | SFKC Home

Program Summary

Wake up! Don’t you know that we’re not sleeping long enough? Though it’s not an excuse to continue your couch potato ways, studies have found that most Americans are not getting the amount of sleep they need to recharge the mind and body. Teenagers in particular are suffering; rather than the 8 hours recommended for adults, they actually need at least 9 hours of sleep to be able to get through the next day without falling asleep in class.

Puberty turns kids upside down; all their systems seem to be out of whack – hormones, moods, and especially their biological clock. Their circadian rhythm changes to a later schedule: They get sleepy much later, often going to bed after midnight, but still have to make it to school by 8 a.m. They build up big sleep debts, which they try to pay down on the weekends by sleeping late, but this just unsettles the body even more. Research indicates that teens with chronic sleep deprivation don’t do as well in school as those who get the proper amount of rest.

It’s not just circadian rhythm that’s to blame, it’s technology, too. Televisions and computers have become ubiquitous in teens’ bedrooms. Who wants to sleep when there are songs to download, MTV to watch, and messages to text? Factor after-school activities, part-time jobs and all the caffeine that teens ingest in soft drinks and coffee, and it’s a wonder they sleep at all!

Guests

Mary Carskadon
Director, Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Research Laboratory
Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior
Brown Medical School
Providence, Rhode Island

Judith Owens, MD
Co-author, "Take Charge of Your Child's Sleep: The All-in-One Resource for Solving Sleep Problems in Kids and Teens" (2005, Marlow & Company)
Director, Pediatric Sleep Disorders Clinic
Associate Professor, Pediatrics
Brown Medical School
Providence, Rhode Island

Related Links and Resources

National Sleep Foundation
2006 Sleep in America Poll
CBC New, March 28, 2006: Few teens get enough sleep, poll suggests
NJ.com, The Star-Ledger, March 28, 2006: New survey sounds the alarm: Nation's kids need more sleep
The Sacramento Bee, March 2006: Health/Medical News - Want more A's? Get more Z's (requires free registration)

For Discussion:

• What is the recommended amount of sleep per night for teenagers? What keeps teens from getting enough sleep?

• How does sleep deprivation affect the mind and body? Why do sleep deprived teenagers get lower grades?

• How do you feel the next day when you haven’t had enough sleep? Have you ever fallen asleep in class? Do you need to take a nap when you get home from school? Do you sleep late on weekends?

• What is circadian rhythm? How does it change when puberty starts?

• What can teens do to increase their sleep?

• How do you feel when you get up on a school day? Do you think pushing high school start times back a little would be helpful?

Activities

Asleep at the wheel. Read the results of the National Sleep Foundations 2006 Sleep in America Poll, then get 8 tips for sleepy teens at Teens and Sleep. You’ll also find links to many other interesting sleepy teen subjects, such as drowsy driving, falling asleep in class, depression, and grades. Take a sleep poll in your class, school, or community.

Dazed and confused. Teenagers typically have a slower circadian cycle, often 30 hours rather than 24, which could explain why teens have a difficult time getting up early and paying attention in morning classes. One school system in Minnesota has experimented with starting high school classes later in the morning. Read about the school starting time debate and see what your students think about it. National Sleep Foundation provides information on advocating for sleep-friendly schools.

Alarm-ing news. Get Some Sleep! is a lesson plan from CNNfyi.com that follows a teen on a typical day to see why she’s not sleeping enough. Students keep a chart of their own sleep times and daily activities and compare them with each other. Getting Up on the Wrong Side of the Bed Everyday?, a lesson plan from the New York Times Learning Network, also discusses the effects of sleep deprivation. Teens give up one “luxury” activity in order to increase their sleep time and keep a “quality of sleep” journal.

Take it from the Kids! For more bedtime stories, visit these Science Friday Kids’ Connection pages:
Sleep On It (November 4, 2005, Hour Two)
June 11, 2004, Hour One: The Sleepy Brain
December 6, 2002, Hour Two: The Secret Life of Pond Scum
September 24, 2004, Hour One: Making Memories
February 9, 2001: Hour Two: Learning and Dreaming

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

RealAudio format (courtesy NPR Online)
Windows Media format (courtesy NPR Online)
mp3 download (Science Friday Podcast)