 Teens are the most sleep deprived of all children. Teens sleep needs can be as high as those of a preschooler ( 9 hours)  Scientists believe that sleep provides the opportunity for brains to wire in what they have learned during the day ( without adequate sleep, learning during the day is not fully retained)  Sleep deprivation affects memory, attention, reaction time, mood

 Abstract thinking, problem solving skills typically are more negatively affected by lack of sleep  Students who struggled in school ( those with c’s, d’s and f’s) typically had 25 mins less of sleep/night  Typically during REM sleep is when the brain is connecting new information. Generally rem sleep occurs about 90 mins after falling asleep, for a well rested person. If sleep deprived, a person will go into rem almost immediately, a situation called REM rebound

 1998 study of teens showed that the average American teen went into REM sleep 3.5 minutes after he fell asleep  CICADIAN rhythms, the natural pattern of wake and sleep, shifts during adolescence so that teens typically function better later in the day and into the night, requiring time to sleep in ( probably caused by hormones)  This will naturally shift back to a more consistent pattern with adults when teens age into their 20’s

Question:  Should school hours be changed to accommodate this change in adolescent sleep patterns? ( start school later in the day?)