Prioritizing Sleep Strath Haven High School Brad Wolgast, PhD, CBSM - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Strath Haven Faculty Prioritizing Sleep

Strath Haven High School Brad Wolgast, PhD, CBSM University of Delaware

Welcome! Who are you?

• Faculty? Here from other schools/communities?
• How many of you remember falling asleep in class during

high school?

• How many of you have teenagers of your own?
• Raise your hand if your son or daughter falls asleep before

9pm?

• Before 10pm?
• Before 11pm?
• Before Midnight?

And the next morning?

• What time does your

son or daughter wake up for the day?

• Before 7:00?
• Before 6:45?
• Before 6:15?
• Before 6:00?
• Next, ask yourself, “Am

I sure they are asleep that whole time?”

• Then, do the math

• Attended Temple University, doctorate in psychology,

and board certified in behavioral sleep medicine

• Work at University of Delaware – college student

sleep disorders, especially insomnia, and everything else

• My Sleep disorder
• My passion is sleep, and here’s a the worst kept secret

in my field: high schoolers have a terrible set up for sleep…

What about me?

What if….

• Your students could change one thing in one hour a

day and…

• Increase their SAT and ACT scores?
• Increase their GPA?
• Become better athletes, musicians, or just be funnier?
• Become more interested in their lives?
• Decrease their likelihood of car accidents?
• Become a better friend?

Adolescent Sleep Needs

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 How many hours of sleep do you think are optimal for adolescents and young adults? 8.5 – 9.25 hours

Only about 9% of adolescents get at least 8 ½ hours of sleep each night. On average, most teens sleep 6.75 hours

• n school nights

(Carskadon et al., 1980; National Sleep Foundation, 2009)

What are the culprits? Who is doing this to the kids? What do you think?

First, why does sleep matter?

What worsens when young adults aren’t getting enough sleep?

• Worsened thinking skills – cognition
• Worsened academic performance and GPA
• Worsened emotional control
• Worsened motor skills – think: driving a car
• Worsened perceptive skills
• Worsened ability to make good decisions, reasoning
• Worsened ability to learn, and make memories of new

information

• Worsened ability to do simple arithmetic
• Worsened ability to fight off colds – the immune system

weakens

Why does sleep matter?

• On the other hand, some things get better with less sleep!

What are they?

• Increased ability to gain weight without trying
• More impulsivity
• More toxins in the brain
• More accidents and errors
• More prone to depression
• Metabolic and endocrine problems (think: diabetes)
• Increase the risk for dementia
• Increased likelihood of heart disease
• Increase the risk of multiple types of cancer

Specifically Adolescents

• Irritability / Behavior Problems (Beebe, 2011; Sadeh et al., 2002; Stein et al.,

2001)

• Depression / Suicidal Ideation (Buysse et al., 2008; Clarke et al., 2015; Liu 2004;

Roberts & Doung, 2014; Silverstein, 2013)

• Substance Use (Bootzin & Stevens, 2005)
• Poor Decision making and risk taking (Baum et al., 2014; Venkatraman et

al., 2007)

• Compromised School Achievement (Eide & Showalter, 2012; Wahlstrom,

1999, 2002)

• Tardiness & Missed School (Owens et al, 2010)
• Poor Concentration / Memory Retention (Baum et al., 2014; Lufi et

al., 2011; Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998)

• “It takes a sleepy student 5 hours to complete 3 hours of

homework.” Judith Owens, MD

How Does Your Brain Experience limited sleep?

What about the Brain?

• Anger!
• Sleep loss primes us

to focus on negative experiences, misinterpret facial expressions and pick fights

• This happens

because sleep debt cuts the connection between your amygdala and your medial prefrontal cortex

What about the Brain?

Donuts! Bacon!

• Sleep loss corresponds with

decreased activity in the frontal lobes, which controls decision making

• AND more activity in the

amygdala – a key player in fear detection

• Put together, these changes

create a brain mechanism that dulls judgement and ratchets up desire which can lead to hunger

What about the Brain?

• Donuts! Bacon!
• In addition, when you don’t sleep

enough you get

• More Ghrelin! – This hormone

increases hunger

• Less Leptin! – This hormone

tells you when you are full

• The result???

What about the Brain?

Funny? Not so Funny

• Sleep loss impacts divergent

thinking – which helps us switch topics easily – and think of different or unusual things: key elements in humor.

• Extra effort in the inferior frontal

gyrus shows that tired brains are straining to keep up with standard cognitive function

What about the Brain?

Risky Decisions

• In a study, when sleep

deprived people prepared to risk their money they expected to win more than those who weren’t sleep deprived.

• When they lost their money,

their brains had a diminished reaction (in the anterior insula) to losing compared to those who had slept well

Why is this happening?

Adult Human Biological Clock

(Smolensky and Lamberg, 2000)

Human Biological Clock: Adult vs. Adolescent

Adolescent melatonin secretion stops 09:00 22:30 Adolescent melatonin secretion starts

To put it in perspective…

• As far as what it feels like for your brain….
• Your son or daughter waking up at 6:45 am is about the

same as you or I waking up to go to work at about

• 5:15 am (two hours and fifteen minutes before our

melatonin production ends)

• Also: you can then go to bed more easily that night than

your son or daughter.

What Can Be Done? Beyond Sleep Hygiene

• 8 Strategies for helping

you and your students get better sleep

• We will begin in the

afternoon and work our way through the night

• Be cautious of quick sleep

hygiene forms.

• Sleep hygiene should be

personalized to be useful.

• Consider this: Keep your

bedroom dark.

• Does anyone here have a

household member who has any trouble waking up?

• Guess what?

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good night: (1) Napping

• Napping is an amazing

way to boost brain power

• Late naps diminish

people’s ability to fall asleep at bedtime

• A nap immediately after

school for 20-40 minutes works!

What Can Be Done?

Prepare for a good night: (2) Bed is for Sleep

• If you are studying or

using electronic devices in bed – you are making it harder for your brain to know when it’s time to go to sleep…

What Can Be Done?

Prepare for a good night: (3) Caffeine is not a teen’s friend

• Caffeine hides fatigue

temporarily

• Any caffeine can interrupt

the development of the brain at least before the age

• f 18
• (AAP says: none is best)
• Caffeine lasts in your system

for how long?

What Can Be Done? (3) Caffeine is not a teen’sfriend

• How much caffeine?
• Coke can, 12 oz/35 mg
• Coke bottle, 20 oz/58 mg
• Monster Energy Drink 160

mg/16 oz

• 5-hour Energy, 2 oz, 200 mg
• McDonald’s McCafe 16 oz, 145

mg

• Dunkin’ Donuts 16 oz, about 300

mg (increased in 2015)

• Starbucks 16 oz, 330 mg

The FDA recommends an adult consumes no more than 100-200mg of caffeine in a 3 to 4 hour period, and not more than 400 mg/day

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good night: (4) Shower before bed

• How many of your kids

shower before bed instead of in the morning?

• Serves a double

purpose….

What Can Be Done?

Prepare for a good night: (5) Powering Down

• Use a blue light

eliminator on ALL electronic devices after dinner (auto-set)

• f.lux, nightshift

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good night: (5) Powering Down

• Power down and turn

devices off an hour before bed

• Yes, really! It actually works!
• If not an hour, at least 30

minutes

• This clears the head and

helps promote sleep

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good day: (6) Wake up well

• How Awesome is

My Snooze Alarm!?!?

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good day: (6) Wake up well

• Q: How do you make

the last ten minutes or hour of sleep essentially worthless?

• A: Snooze

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good day: (6) Wake up well

• What if you could choose your morning:
• either sleep until 6:45am or
• be woken up three times between 6:20 and 6:45am
• What do you choose?

Clocky, the runaway alarm clock, $30.

What Can Be Done? Prepare for a good week: (7) Avoid Jet Lag

• Weekend Jet Lag
• Any guesses?

If the rate for adults is 2 in 3, what do you think the rate is for high school students?

Sleeping in on weekends is normal and can help you catch up, but sleeping beyond two hours past school day rise times will lead to Jet Lag

So what do the experts say? School should start after 8:30 am for 6th through 12th grades.

• National Sleep Foundation, 2009
• Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, 2013
• American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014
• American Medical Association, 2016
• Center for Disease Control, 2016
• And many more

Sleep and Dietary Choices

13,284 teens surveyed. Teens who slept less than 7 hours per night (compared to teens who slept more) were:

• More likely to consume fast food two or more times per week
• Less likely to consume fruits and vegetables
• Despite race, gender, SES, physical activity and family structure

“…we need to start thinking about how to more actively incorporate sleep hygiene education into

• besity prevention and health promotion interventions.”
• Lead researcher Dr. Lauren Hale, Stony Brook Medicine Press Release, June 20, 2013

Sleep and Sports

68% fewer sports injuries among teens

with more sleep than their peers

“We were surprised to find that sleep played such an important role in athletic injury.” (Milewski interview)

Sleep and Grades

Study of 6,165 US Air Force Academy cadets over

4 years. (Carrell et al, 2011)

• Cadets with 7:50 am classes courses performed

better in all their courses for that day compared to cadets with 7:00 am classes

• 50 minute later start improved teacher quality

by one standard deviation “…later start times may be a cost-effective way to improve student outcomes for adolescents” (p 80)

In 1997…

Minneapolis Public School District’s 7 high schools

changed from: 7:15 am - 1:45 pm school days to 8:40 am - 3:20 pm school days

(Affecting 18,000 students)

In a study 4 years later:

“Contrary to the fears and expectations that a later

start would result in students staying awake an hour later on school nights…

Minneapolis high school students get five more hours

• f sleep per week than their peers [with early

school start times].”

(Wahlstrom, 2003)

Benefits of Later Start Times

In Minneapolis (statistically measured):

• Increased total sleep
• Increased attendance
• Reduced tardiness
• Increased enrollment
• Slight improvement in grades (“difficult to

measure”) (Wahlstrom, 2003)

Benefits of Later Start Times

Anecdotal and Survey Reports from Minneapolis

• According to the faculty and staff:
• Fewer students falling asleep in class
• Students more alert during first two periods
• Improved student behavior
• Quieter hallways
• According to the students:
• Learning was ‘easier’

(Wahlstrom, 2003)

Auto Accidents: Minnesota, Wyoming

In 2005 the Mahtomedi School District moved start

times from 7:30 am to 8:00 am

During that school year, auto accidents among 16-

18year olds in the district decreased by 65% In 2012 the Jackson Hole School District moved start times from 7:35 am to 8:55 am. During that school year, auto accidents among 16-18 year olds in the district decreased by 70%

(Wahlstrom et al, 2014 – UMN CAREI Studies)

So what can you do?

• Support House Bill 2105 before the Pennsylvania House

during the upcoming session.

• Sponsored by Rep Tim Briggs of Montgomery County,

HB 2105 would direct the state Department of Education to study the benefits and any potential negative impacts associated with a later start time for Pennsylvania’s secondary schools.

• Interested? I can send you a sample letter of support

and information for how you and your family members can locate the name and address/phone number of your representative.

So what can you do?

• Respect sleep: your own and your students’
• Encourage your students to write a paper for a

class on sleep (Psychology, English, Social Studies, Journalism)

• Talk to your students about the problems and

the science

• Join Start School Later! Resources here:

www.startschoollater.net

Sleep well!

Brad Wolgast, PhD, CBSM University of Delaware bradw@udel.ede

References

• https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-

room/pages/let-them-sleep-aap-recommends-delaying-start- times-of-middle-and-high-schools-to-combat-teen-sleep- deprivation.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000- 0000- 000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:+No+local+toke n

• http://www.odu.edu/news/2014/11/teen_drivers#.V7x9EPkrJ

hE

• https://www.the74million.org/article/a-start-school-later-

success-story-in-missouri-higher-graduation-rates-fewer- suspensions