Early Classes = Sleepy Teens (Duh!)
06 October 2010
Surveys find that half of American teenagers are missing an average of up to 1½ hours of sleep every school night
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Surveys of American teenagers find that about half of them do not get enough sleep on school nights. They get an average of sixty to ninety minutes less than experts say they need.
One reason for this deficit is biology. Experts say teens are biologically programmed to go to sleep later and wake up later than other age groups. Yet many schools start classes as early as seven in the morning.
As a result, many students go to class feeling like sixteen-year-old Danny. He plays two sports, lacrosse and football. He is an active teen -- except in the morning.
DANNY: "Getting up in the morning is pretty terrible. I'm just very out of it and tired. And then going to school I'm out of it, and through first and second period I can barely stay awake."
Michael Breus is a clinical psychologist with a specialty in sleep disorders.
MICHAEL BREUS: "These aren't a bunch of lazy kids -- although, you know, teenagers can of course be lazy. These are children whose biological rhythms, more times than not, are off."
Teens, he says, need to sleep eight to nine hours or even nine to ten hours a night. He says sleepy teens can experience a form of depression that could have big effects on their general well-being. It can affect not just their ability in the classroom but also on the sports field and on the road.
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