August 20, 2007 Hello! For some, the school year has already begun. For others, the start is coming within the next few weeks. "Before the new school year starts, youngsters should start to change their summertime sleep habits. If they don't, they could end up suffering a sleep deficit that could affect their performance in school, say American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) experts. "'It is difficult to advance your bedtime and, once a schedule has been established, it may take days or weeks to develop a new schedule. It can't be done overnight. Not unexpectedly, for the first weeks of school, many children and teens do not obtain a proper amount of sleep.' Dr. Daniel G. Glaze, a pediatric sleep expert at the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston and a member of the AASM board of directors, said in a prepared statement. The switch from a summer-holiday to a school-year sleep schedule 'means that there is a big adjustment ahead for teens,' Ralph Downey, chief of sleep medicine at the Sleep Disorders Center at Loma Linda Medical Center in California, said in a prepared statement. "He suggested that teens start adjusting their
bedtime/wakeup times during the week before the start of
school. Children and teens need more sleep than adults and
young peoples' circadian rhythms are more easily disrupted,
said Dr. William Kohler, of the Florida Sleep Institute in
Spring Hill. Depending on their age, students need at least
nine to 10 hours of quality sleep a night, and parents need
to enforce appropriate bedtime hours and a healthy sleep
environment. 'A student's performance is dictated by the
amount of sleep he or she gets the night before,' Kohler
said in a prepared statement. 'A child or teen who
regularly gets enough sleep will have improved academic
performance, a positive attitude toward their education and
be able to better interact socially with their peers and
teachers.'" While it may not come as news that a good night's sleep will lead to a better day at school, trying to get a good night's sleep and wake up rested for school after being on a summer sleep schedule can be a difficult transition.
"A researcher studying sleep for NASA has found the body
has more difficulty adjusting to different sleep times than
previously thought. ... 'There's no doubt that changing
your biological clock is difficult,' [Timothy Monk, a
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center psychiatry
professor who is leading a study to find the best way to
shift sleep] said Tuesday. 'What we're trying to do here is
basically address the question of how you cope with
something that is difficult.' ... Researchers found the
body only adjusts itself by about one hour a night — not
the two of NASA's current practices. The findings were
published in this month's issue of Aviation, Space and
Environmental Medicine. A second phase of the study shifted
sleep in 30-minute blocks; the final phase, just starting,
will shift sleep in one abrupt movement. 'There is always
some cost to performing tasks when we expect to be asleep,
but by the end of the series of experiments' researchers
should be able to advise NASA which approach is best, Monk
said. Testing could last a couple of years, he said. ...
'Many of us find that we have to change our sleep schedule,
perhaps to accommodate work or school start times, or a
change in our commute time,' Monk said. 'We often wonder if
we should make the change all at once, or more gradually
over several days or weeks. This research has the eventual
aim of helping us make that decision in the best way
possible.'" While researchers continue to work to find the best way to adjust a sleep schedule, there is practical advice to help those trying to make the transition to and maintain a healthy school sleep schedule.
"NSF recommends these sleep tips to help parents and
children start the school year strong: There is the ideal, and then there is reality.
"Teenagers' sleep problems are aggravated by the schedules
they keep, says Simon. 'In high school, socialization
starts, and parents start allowing children to go to
football games and go out afterward, and then they let them
sleep in on Saturday mornings.' On Saturdays, the children
will wake up at 10 a.m. and go outside, and the natural
light reinforces the message to the brain that this is the
'starting time' for the day, he says. 'Then they stay out
late again Saturday night and sleep in Sunday morning. When
Sunday night comes, the kids want to get into bed earlier,
but they can't fall asleep. Then, when 6 a.m. comes, they
can't wake up. Their biological clock has changed.'"
Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions. I look forward to reading what you have to say. Cindy |
|||
