1. Latchkey Children Sleep Deprivation among Adolescents

2.  Children who come home to an empty house due to parents working  1/3 of school-age children = aprox. 5 million between ages 5-13  Considerations parents must make to determine if child should be left alone:  Age (no “legal” age)  Maturity  Trustworthiness/Responsibility  Other kids in the house  1/3 of complaints to CPS involve Latchkey Children  WHY?

3.  Babysitter  Neighbor/Relative’s house  Establish rules and chores – don’t forget safety rules  After-school programs  Use the phone!  Keys  Look-for’s: robbery  Answering the door and telephone  Flex-time with employers  Contact information  9-1-1 Procedures

4.  Teens sleep longer than adults (biologically)  26% of high school students sleep less than 6.5 hours on school nights  15% of high school students sleep 8.5 or more  Most “make up” for lost sleep on weekends  leads to poorer-quality sleep

5.  From puberty – early 20’s, adolescents need 9.2 hours sleep/night  Adults need 7.5-8 hours sleep/night  Beginning school at 7:20  students are “pathologically sleepy” at 8:30, falling into REM sleep in about 3.4 minutes  NARCOLEPSY!

6.  Adolescent’s brain timing system switches on later at night  Sensitivity to light changes

7.  Language processing is not activated in sleep-deprived students  Electrical and chemical activity that occur during sleep are interrupted when sleep deprived, so the brain cannot function normally  Sleep-deprived students do not use al of their brain  Even when a teacher is giving a stimulating lesson, sleep-deprived students will only think about sleep and therefore are not alert or cognizant of the going- on’s and therefore have lower levels of memory or understanding  Sleep deprivation leads to poor grades, even if the student got only 25 minutes less than another student who is earning A’s

8.  Drowsiness and fatigue cause more than 100,000 traffic accidents/year; more than half involve young drivers (Highway Traffic Safety Administration)  ½ of juvenile delinquents were sleep-deprived (NU study)  Sleep-deprivation decreases the metabolism of gluclose, takes forty-percent longer to adjust blood-sugar levels, and decreases insulin production by 30 percent (U of Chicago)  Can lead to diabetes, obesity, and hypertension

9.  Slow reflexes  Inability to perform basic cognitive tasks  Difficulty writing, learning new skills  Decreased memory and retention  Mood swings leading to pessimism, sadness, stress, and anger  Chronic tiredness, and desire to nap during the day  Outbursts and violence  Weakened immune system  ADHD  Making poor decisions and risky behavior

10.  Delaying morning start times at school = higher test scores, decreased depression, less irritability, and few fights (state laws requiring high schools start later)  Informing parents, teens, teacher, and community members about the importance of sleep