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Is Your Child Sleep Deprived?

【睡眠健康】你的孩子每晚睡幾小時？

針對青少年越來越晚睡和缺乏睡眠的問題日益嚴重，美國兒科醫生協會 (American Academy of Pediatrics) 正式發表呼籲，希望學校將上課時間延遲到八點半之後，讓小孩子能有足夠的睡眠時間（醫生的建議是，青少年每晚需要8.5 至 9.5 小時的睡眠）。。。當然從小讓孩子養成早睡的習慣，也是非常重要的。

The American Academy of Pediatrics is proposing to shift the starting time of school two hours later from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM or later. AAP argues that as a teenager matures, they are naturally inclined to sleep later. Their bodies tend to tire later into the night. The majority of high school students sleep at 12:00 midnight or later, and since school starts at 6:30 AM, students do not receive the advised 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep required for mental focus and perception

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Studies show that that teenagers who are sleep deprived get into more car accidents when driving to school and aren’t able to absorb as much knowledge during lectures and discussions.

In order to promote a healthier lifestyle and improve students’ academic capabilities, AAP is arguing for later start times for schools. This will prevent car accidents by weary and groggy drivers, reduce the number of students falling asleep during lectures, improve the health of sleep deprived students, and help students learn at their fully rested potential.

8/25/2014  
Studies show that adolescents who don’t get enough sleep often suffer physical and mental health problems, an increased risk of automobile accidents and a decline in academic performance. But getting enough sleep each night can be hard for teens whose natural sleep cycles make it difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 p.m. – and who face a first-period class at 7:30 a.m. or earlier the next day. 
In a new policy statement published online Aug. 25, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.
“Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement, “School Start Times for Adolescents,” published in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics. 
“The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life,” Dr. Owens said. “Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn.” 
Many studies have documented that the average adolescent in the U.S. is chronically sleep-deprived and pathologically sleepy. A National Sleep Foundation poll found 59 percent of 6th through 8th graders and 87 percent of high school students in the U.S. were getting less than the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights. 
The policy statement is accompanied by a technical report, “Insufficient Sleep in Adolescents and Young Adults: An Update on Causes and Consequences,” also published online Aug. 25. The technical report updates a prior report on excessive sleepiness among adolescents that was published in 2005. 
The reasons for teens’ lack of sleep are complex, and include homework, extracurricular activities, after-school jobs and use of technology that can keep them up late on week nights. The AAP recommends pediatricians counsel teens and parents about healthy sleep habits, including enforcing a media curfew. The AAP also advises health care professionals to educate parents, educators, athletic coaches and other stakeholders