"These kids may be up and at school at 8:30, but I'm convinced their brains are back on the pillow at home."

Everyone, especially mothers, take the time to read this article on Sleep Deprivation and how it could effect your adolescent's four years in high school academically, socially, and his/her behavior. Here's a brief summary of the article:

In Siri Carpenter’s article “Sleep Deprivation may be Undermining Teen Health,” she thoroughly explains sleep deprivation, the causes and effects it has on adolescents and their well-being, and aims to convince readers that “adolescents need about 9.2 hours of sleep each night, compared with the 7.5 to 8 hours that adults need” (Carpenter, 2001 p. 46). Carpenter begins the article by making clear that most adolescents stumble out of bed, dreading to be at their bus stops little before 7 a.m., and be in class prepared to learn no later than 7:30. She supports her argument with a number of sub-arguments as well as research studies that were done by other experts all over the United States. Amy R. Wolfson, PhD, of the College of the Holy Cross, and Mary A. Carskadon, PhD, of Brown made a connection between sleep deprivation and poorer grades. Their study revealed students who where receiving poorer grades in high school, where getting less sleep than those adolescents who were receiving passing grades. Carpenter also includes another great study in her article done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicating that most car accidents are caused by sleepiness and fatigue each year, and “young drivers are at the wheel in more than half of these crashes” (Carpenter, 2001 p. 46). Through out the continuation of the article, Carpenter uses her expert opinion, as well as others’, to persuade high schools to push their start times back at least an extra hour so adolescents can get the proper night’s rest needed to function well the next morning. She also includes recent bill passings in our neighboring states that will allow schools to start at later times with the aid of federal funding and efforts made to help adolescents get the correct amount of sleep needed each night.


Works Cited

Carpenter, S. (2001, October). Sleep Deprivation may be Undermining Teen Health. American Psychological Association. Retrieved January 31, 2013, from
http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.aspx.