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NutureShock Chapter 2-The Lost Hour (Sleep)
Sorry for the lack of notice, but my life has been crazy so I'm barely finding time to get this post up. So, I didn't get time to give notice. But the Media section isn't usually all that busy, so feel free to read the chapter or article and then come back to discuss.
Although I haven't compared them word for word, a version of this chapter can be found in the New York magazine here: http://nymag.com/news/features/38951/
Anyway, this chapter is on sleep and basically says that kids are getting about an hour less sleep than they used to and that it matters. Studies show that less sleep makes a difference. The solution the authors put forth at a high school level is that high schools should start an hour later.
As always, I'll save my comments for below.
Tags: NutureShock, Sleep
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on -
A few quick comments: Out of all the studies, did anyone see an absolute number? How much sleep should kids be getting at each age?
And I admit I'm still confused about moving school start time later--why couldn't kids just go to bed earlier? End all school activities earlier and get kids home? I understand that takes discipline, but eventually won't people start using that extra hour in the morning to do things other than sleep (or start pushing bedtimes back even more) so that it becomes a never-ending cycle? There was something about melatonin in adolescents not kicking in until 90 minutes after the sunsets for adolescents, but during in winter, that would generally mean that the melatonin is kicking in by 7 pm.
But yeah, I like sleep, I definitely function at a lower level without it. I'm in a cycle now where I'm low on it and it makes me grumpy and less patient. I haven't taken any recent IQ tests on it, though, so I can't prove that part of the research!
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Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on
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The kid went to sleep tonight shortly after I told him, "Sleep helps your brain grow." I will say that's the problem with chapters like this to me. When the kid won't go to sleep, I start freaking out that his growth is being stunted! But at least it gave me more information with which to attempt to persuade him...
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Permalink Reply by The Oracle on -
I haven't had a chance to read it yet but I will. Sleep is very very interesting to me, not just because of the Dragon's chronic sleep issues but also because I love it so. Oh, and also I love dreams. Does the article say anything about the importance of dreaming?
Re: the number of hours needed, I've read a lot of sleep books, articles, studies, etc. and almost every one of them offers its own little chart about how much sleep is needed at each age. I never bothered to compare charts because the Dragon was nowhere near their recommendations anyway, but I'm guessing that, as in all things parenting/kid related, it's a bit fluid depending on the kid. But not so fluid that, say, six hours a night is enough at age five. Or, really, at any age.
It's a good point about how that extra hour in the morning would be used. I don't necessarily think changing the school schedule would do anything either. I think the chronic underlying problem are that people feel too busy, feel like they can't give up another hour of "productivity" to get an hour of sleep. And I think it starts early -- certainly in high school but probably before. And grown-ups aren't the best role models for sleep hygiene either.
Probably what would work better (though it would be much harder) is to change the culture and the economy so kids don't have to have so much homework, so many after-school obligations (clubs, sports, jobs), etc., so they feel like they can get enough sleep. And grown-ups could certainly pare down their perceived obligations as well. Simple living blah blah blah.
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Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on
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I don't recall anything about dreams in there. I'm fascinated by pre-sleep routines. We have a pretty long one for the kid--about an hour of bath, stories, etc. But then, he has his own. There's some routine with where he arranges his two blankets--one for "Baby" (his doll) and one for him. And when he finally is drifting off, he talks to himself. It's funny because he's not a huge talker, so it sort of intrigues me that this thing that seems like work for him (speech) is what relaxes him. Last night, I heard him drifting off by saying one of his friend's names over and over. It has difficult sounds yet he was saying it perfectly. I've had to stay in his room with him (or share a bed with him) more in the past few weeks to help him calm down, so I've had more opportunity to watch the process in action.
My own routine is more simple--I read until I fall asleep. Always have, probably always will. The difficult part is finding reading that is interesting enough to read, yet won't make me stay up all night!
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Permalink Reply by DLBK on -
Interesting read. My child is 2, so most of the points don't apply. For example, I wasn't aware that most parents let even young children stay up later on the weekend. We don't--mostly because he still wakes up at the same time, and often doesn't make up for the lost sleep during his nap, resulting in an over-tired and cranky kid for one or more days.
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Permalink Reply by Boring User Name on
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So, perhaps the next time we do one of these, it shouldn't be hosted by someone who is living in a new house every 10 days, but tomorrow the Chapter 3 discussion opens. Here's the link to the Newsweek version of the article.
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