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Let Teenagers Sleep

scientificamerican.com

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Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#131

Post by trgn »

Zetice wrote: post #20

Maybe just schedule the not-intellectually-heavy stuff earlier in the day, if we can't screw up the parents' schedules with a later start time. For example, start school with a study hall (that you can miss if you're so able e.g. if you can drive yourself to school), and let the kids nap. Honestly that would have been a game changer for me, as I never did my homework until the last second.

Yeah, a few hours of optional study hall before or after school would be so good. It gives some buffer for the studious kids. Plus, 50% of class time is wasted anyway. Just teach essentials.

Getting on my soap box: most important buildings in an educational institution are the library and the sports hall. Healthy mind in healthy body. Dial in formal instruction tactfully. That's really it.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#132

Post by asciii »

avgcorrection wrote: post #93

Pet peeve of mine: some older adults are proud that they get up early. And that’s OK in isolation. The problem though is that older adults rule society moreso than younger adults, and certainly compared to teenagers. So for many older adults it feels natural to go to bed early and to get up early. But then we as a society confuse that with universal “good behavior”/good character, so everyone has to dance to that tun…

I feel like you're onto something. Growing up, I was always told "The early bird gets the morning worm." In my opinion, I did not want to be the worm waking up early.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#133

Post by isk517 »

Jun8 wrote: post #15

This post on the front page was SO timely for us! My son (16) was feeling very sleepy and tired the past week. On Friday he took a brief nap at 5pm, but woke up next morning, after 15 hours. This morning when I went to wake him up at 6am he just couldn’t make it so I let him stay at home. This never happened before.

This describes a lot of what my life was like between the ages of 17 to 20. I would sleep for 12+ hours at a time if I got the chance and would also take constant naps. Got tested for a few things but nothing ever came up. Eventually my sleep patterns returned to normal and these days I get by on 8-9 hours a sleep a night.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#134

Post by steve_adams_86 »

n4r9 wrote: post #14
agomez314 wrote: post #12

Is smartphone/digital screen attributable to some degree to teenager's late-night habits, and therefore a need for later school times?

Research into teenagers' shifted body clocks has been going on since well before smartphones and even laptops, if I recall.

I read about it several times in Discover magazine as an early tween/teen. I had a subscription, haha. So, it was a recurring topic 20+ years ago in a fairly popular magazine.

This was well before kids commonly had phones, and while I owned a palm pilot, it didn’t keep me up at night and it was… atypical at best for kids to have or perhaps even want them, haha.

Around the time I turned 18 most kids my age had cell (not smart) phones and computers had become common in households, but I don’t recall them being a major sleep disturber yet. I would stay up on mine learning to program and playing StarCraft around 20 years ago, but again, I don’t think this was nearly as typical as kids watching tv in their rooms back then, let alone using phones or tablets today.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#135

Post by eganist »

bsder wrote: post #38
eganist wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could've happened if the transition to remote work was allowed to keep going, but too many companies were invested in commercial real estate (e.g via REITs etc) to let it happen. ^^gross oversimplification, but I'm standing by it

Most people in the US work in businesses shelpping shit around (Amazon, WalMart, UPS, etc.). Work from home simply isn't in the cards for them, ever.

Yes, that much is true. But their schedules are also not necessarily fixed at 9-5.

So there's something to be said for labor where it very easily could be flexible but arbitrarily isn't.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#136

Post by [deleted] »

fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #17

As a teenager I was diagnosed with "ADD". Very intelligent, but unable to focus or complete assignments. My life habits were carb heavy unhealthy food (from the cafeteria), soda, lack of sleep due to long school commute, not much exercise As an adult, I eat no carbs, all meat and vegetables, I work from home and sleep in as far as I need every night. My thinking is laser sharp. They tried to medicate me with all sort…

[deleted]

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#137

Post by shagie »

ginko wrote: post #107
sologoub wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would not fix the coordination problem - if the family includes one of each (elementary, middle and high school kids) you still have to make breakfast for them, get everyone ready and head out. Let’s say they all don’t have to leave at the same time, but most other activities have to be coordinated and the sheer noise in the household will wake people up, not to mention it’s a bit easier to feed all 3 kids toget…

>if the family includes one of each (elementary, middle and high school kids) you still have to make breakfast for them, get everyone ready and head out. Surely high school aged kids can make their own breakfast.

Surely the high school aged kids can make sure to not oversleep and be responsible enough to ensure that their parents won't get a call at 9:15 when they've failed to show up on time.

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#138

Post by PicassoCTs »

waynesonfire wrote: post #97
steve_adams_86 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird. My guidance councillor did the same. Well, I wasn’t accepted to a school at the point in which they encouraged me to settle for less, but it was a very heartfelt “don’t even try”. I left the room very confused and upset. Went in with ambition and excitement about my future and left feeling like I must be a complete idiot. I remember her saying “Let’s focus on being realistic. You aren’t actually going to do th…

We're all winners! Here is your sticker. World is a savage place and everyone will try to keep you down. There are lucky few that are surrounded by a support group that cares and safety nets at every corner.

Its actually a elitist, slap down machine. Cause academic families will not fear such a slap. After all, everyone you know has studied. And some of them are idiots, you know those. So why shouldn't you.

But the one person from a poor household, who never went far in life. No matter how bright, will have noone to put them back upright again. Its pure evil and very unamerican and anti-meritocratic. Its also a thing, thats very common in european societys with rigid class structures, like Britain.

They sort you in, just for your dialect and your place of birth. And look what it got them..

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#139

Post by giantg2 »

solveit wrote: post #44
fdgsdfogijq wrote: post #17

As a teenager I was diagnosed with "ADD". Very intelligent, but unable to focus or complete assignments. My life habits were carb heavy unhealthy food (from the cafeteria), soda, lack of sleep due to long school commute, not much exercise As an adult, I eat no carbs, all meat and vegetables, I work from home and sleep in as far as I need every night. My thinking is laser sharp. They tried to medicate me with all sort…

> My guidance counseler suggested I dont attend college, just a community college (despite the fact that I got admitted to a decent state school) What's wrong with guidance counselors in American high schools? Why do I keep hearing about them giving kids incredibly stupid advice?

"What's wrong with guidance counselors in American high schools? Why do I keep hearing about them giving kids incredibly stupid advice?"

Because most of them couldn't get a "real" job. If they could they'd be making more money somewhere else. (yes, there are some great people doing the job for ideological reasons too)

Re: Let Teenagers Sleep

#140

Post by asebold »

ArchOversight wrote: post #51

> This shift reverses at adulthood. The biological nature of this daily rhythm means that sending a teenager to bed earlier won’t necessarily mean they fall asleep earlier. No, this shift does not reverse in adulthood for some people... I am in my 30's and I still fall asleep midnight to 1 AM, and wake up "late" by most adult standards at around 8/9 AM. I can not shift my sleep schedule to earlier, I've tried many ti…

Same. I tried having a bed time routine, eating/drinking at certain times, reading before bed, no phone, etc. Nothing makes a difference. I get sleepy around midnight and wake up around 8 - 9 am.

All I wanted to do growing up was sleep. We were the first ones on the bus at 6:30am every weekday, and then my parents dragged us to some kind of sport extracurricular on Saturday mornings and church on Sunday. I would have been so much easier to deal with if I'd just had a chance to sleep.

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