Articles about Sleep - Summaries

High School Students With A Delayed School Start Time Sleep Longer, Report Less Daytime Sleepiness – Summary

On June 9, 2008, it was reported in a research at SLEEP (the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies) that students who started school with a delayed time benefited from this experiment. It was proven that on average, 259 students slept 7.03 hours, from 10:52 p.m. to 6:12 a.m. These students confirmed they had sleep disorders, which decreased their level of concentration at school.

After the trial of the 40 minute delay in the school start, it was discovered that high school students slept 33 minutes more than the average sleep time. Instead of starting school at 7:35 a.m, students started school at 8:15 a.m. With this experiment, students reported they were more focused during school.

To conclude, it was confirmed that high school students who slept 33 minutes more than their average sleep time presented notable changes. Students actually took 83% advantage of the extra time for sleep. It is proven that teenagers must sleep 9 hours and this trial contributed to this statement.

In my opinion, I would certainly take advantage of those 33 minutes. Those minutes, like the article stated, would undoubtedly increase the sleep time of the teenagers and therefore would bring beneficial results.

Delayed School Start Time Associated With Improvements in Adolescent Behaviors – Summary

According to a report in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a delay in school time improves the adolescent’s awareness, demeanor, and healthiness.

The studies affirm that when a child enters puberty, the teenager has an unstable cycle of sleeping, waking every two hours. The study also states that teenager sleep needs do not decrease radically. The most advantageous sleep quantities stay the same, with 9 ¼ hours per night.

A group of specialists performed a trial in which 201 students from grades 9-12 started school 30 minutes after. The results proved that students felt more alert and motivated and attendance increased as well. The percentage of students sleeping less than seven hours decreased to 79.4% and the percentage of student sleeping at least eight hours increased from 16.4% to 54.7%. Additionally, the percentage of unhappiness in students decreased from 65.8% to 45%. The percentage of irritated students decreased from 84% to 62.6%. Lastly, in health issues, the number decreased from 15.3% to 4.6%.

To wrap up, the specialists confirmed that sleep was extremely favorable to teenagers in their day-to-day moods, alertness, and fitness, developing a positive demeanor.

I believe the research done by this group of scientists contains a lot of valid information. The information proves that sleeping does not only decrease sleep deprivation in teenagers, but likewise sleeping would improve numerous aspects of a person. Sleeping can make a huge difference in a person’s mood.

Why Does Lack of Sleep Affect Us Differently? Study Hints It May Be in Our Genes – Summary

The medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology posted a significant question: why do other people function better with less hours of sleep?

After an intensive research, scientists discovered that some people suffer of a gene variant similar to narcolepsy, “a sleep disorder that causes excessive daytime sleepiness”. Just because a person suffers from these symptoms does not mean that that persons suffers from narcolepsy. Actually, 12% to 38% of the people with this gene are considered healthy sleepers instead of being diagnosed with a sleep disorder.

In the experiment, scientists compared 92 healthy adults with 37 adults that contained narcolepsy but were considered healthy sleepers. At first, the participants could sleep for 10 hours, but then they were sleep deprived when they were only allowed to sleep 4 hours. Afterwards, their sleep quality and ability to resist sleepiness were recorded. It was discovered that those with the gene variant woke up 4 times per night while does who didn’t contain the gene variant just woke up twice. The people without the gene variant also spent more time during deep sleep, stages 3 & 4. However, there was no difference whatsoever in their memory and ability to resist sleep in daytime.

I have always wondered why other people can resist better through the day with less hours of sleep. This article answers my doubts. Gene variation has a lot to do with someone’s resistance. The experiment used in this case was very precise and contributed to the hypotheses. If someone contains the gene variation of narcolepsy, that person will suffer from an unbalanced sleep through the night, which will cause sleep deprivation. 

Works Cited

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101025161023.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609071202.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100705190532.htm

Photos

Google