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Posted by Barbara Pytel Aug 3, 2007 |
How Much Sleep?
Just how much sleep does a student need? Many experts state that teenagers need 10 hours of sleep. Teachers can state with confidence that students don't get that much sleep. As they are nodding off during class or sound asleep at their desk, it is obvious that someone didn't get 10 hours the night before. But, can they? Before school basketball practice is set for 6:30 a.m. That requires a student to get up at 5:30. If they were up until 11:00 doing homework after cheerleading practice, that is slightly over six hours if they got to sleep easily.
How much would you sleep if you didn't have to set your alarm and go to work or school? The answer is 8 to 8 1/2 hours according to the National Institutes of Health. The institute understands that every person has a different need for sleep and recommends between 7 and 9 hours.
Basal Sleep
The institute explains that we need "basal sleep" time to be at our best. When we don't deposit our basal hours into the sleep bank, we owe the bank sleep hours. Our body keeps count. For most people, seven hours is our deposit to our sleep bank. A poll taken in 2005 shows that Americans average seven hours of sleep. Our grandparents averaged nine hours of sleep. Can you imagine how we would feel if we got 9 hours of sleep every night?
Repairs
Scientists state that our body repairs itself while we sleep. The less we sleep, the less time there is for healing. The process is very subtle but, again, our body keeps score. Sleeping enhances our immune system which fights off infections. A 2002 study tracked two groups of men that had received flu shots. One group slept just four hours a night for ten nights. The other group slept the average or fulfilled basal sleep requirements. The men that received more sleep had twice the antibodies of those that were sleep deprived. [Rich Maloof, MSN Health & Fitness, health.msn.com, June 20, 2007]
An army needs time to build a defense. It needs time to fortify itself against the enemy by gathering ammunition so it is in position against an invasion. Our body is the same. So, when grandma said, "Don't stay out too late--you might get sick", she was right.
Less Than Seven Hours...
Dr. Michael Twery, director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, says, "Recent findings indicate that regularly sleeping less than seven hours each night is associated with potentially serious health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease." [Rich Maloof, MSN Health & Fitness, health.msn.com, June 20, 2007]
What About Catching Up?
Saturday morning--teenagers sleep in until noon. Is this healthy? Actually, no. Robert Preidt of Health Day states that sleeping on weekends resets the biological clock for the brain making it out-of-balance on Monday morning. The brain may not be engaged until noon on Monday if teenagers have been sleeping until noon on weekends. Just like we reset our clocks for daylight savings time, sleeping in resets our internal clock for a later time. This is based on research presented at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Minneapolis on June 20, 2007. Again, when mom said, "We have to start going to bed earlier before school begins", she was right.
While missing sleep occasionally may not affect students immediately, pushing themselves in sports on a regular basis is not only making them susceptible to illness but inviting physical problems down the road. We need our sleep and teenagers need more than adults.
Related articles: Brain Gym, Brain Function and Music, Teenage Brain Not Developed
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.