 Why is this a problem? ◦ Studies of the three mile island nuclear reactor meltdown, and the NASA challenge space shuttle accident indicate lost sleep as a contributing cause of car accidents

 School age children need between 9-10 hours sleep/night  For each of the past 3 decades, children have lost ½ hour of sleep ( today’s children sleep an average of 90 mins less each night)  Children’s sleep is different from adults; children spend much more time in rapid eye movement ( REM), which is the dream stage of the sleep cycle  Infants who typically sleep up to 16 hours/day, spend half of that is REM sleep

 REM sleep is crucial for brain activity; the brain is at least as active during the dream cycle as it is when a person is awake  This activity is related to neural plasticity ( the growth and change of brain cells) which occurs during REM sleep  REM sleep allows children to process information that they have encountered during the day  Because the length of the REM cycle increases as the night wears on, a shortened night of sleep means less time spent in REM sleep

 Children years of age were limited in their sleep to 5 hours/night  The next day both their abstract thinking and creativity ( as measured by standardized test) had decreased temporarily

 For children 9-12 years old, reducing the child’s sleep by a single hour negatively affected his memory and reaction time on standardized tests

 If sleep deprivation happens frequently, the important brain development that needs to take place during childhood simply cannot happen

 Today’s teens are thought to be the most sleep deprived among children because their sleep need is 9 hours/night, but they rarely get that.  Canada study ( 2003): 75% of teens sleep fewer than 8.5 hours/night  Italy Study ( 2001): direct connection identified between risk of injury and children sleeping less than 10 hrs/night

 Connection also identified between inadequate sleep and hyperactivity  Loss of sleep often shows up as hyperactivity because children are trying hard to stimulate themselves to stay awake  Infants with sleep problems in early childhood are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD  USA study: survery of children 5-7 showed a high correlation between children who snored or had other sleep disturbances and those who had mild ADHD  Once sleep disturbances were eliminated, these children had noticeable increases in academic chievement

 One main cause of poor sleep is childhood obesity  1 out of every 3 children, or 30% of American children are not regarded as clinically obese causing sleep apnea ( condition that causes people to temporarily stop breathing), hyperventilation, sleep disturbances  Other causes ( electronic diversions cause cognitive stimulation and engagement)  Vigorous exercising before bedtime  Parents typically don’t recognize lack of sleep as a serious health issue

 wRo wRo  drQ drQ  Teens and sleephttp:// gMqv9x10http:// gMqv9x10  Teens and sleep part 2http:// wQrI3eY&feature=relmfuhttp:// wQrI3eY&feature=relmfu