You know about junk food. Now there’s sleep that’s not so good for you: junk sleep. And there’s a good chance that your teenager is getting some. A BBC report says: Too many teenagers are damaging their health by not getting enough sleep and by falling asleep with electrical gadgets on, researchers say. A third [...]
Junk Sleep
Education Leads to Longer, Healthier Life
What does it take to live a longer, healthier life? Education, many studies show, is the answer. The New York Times features (free registration required) an explanation of this conclusion. The one social factor that researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education. It is [...]
Posted 8 January 2007 by Leon Baranovsky
Tags: health and safety
Tags: health and safety
High Schools Consider Sleeping In
Via EdNews, Newsday.com writes about a trend to start high school classes later in the morning. According to behavioral experts, adolescents generally need eight to nine hours’ sleep each night, beginning around 11 p.m., when most start feeling drowsy. Ideally, then, most students wouldn’t awaken until about 7:30 a.m — about the time most on [...]
Parents Key to Teen Driver Safety
The American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement on teen driving that includes guidelines for parents and a contract you can use with your teen driver. Here are some things you can do: Give permission for them to obtain a license;Control access to the vehicle;Set family restrictions and punishments for infractions;Assure that the vehicle [...]
ADHD… How Can You Tell?
A great introductory article on ADHD (pdf) is available in the Fall issue of Healthy Children, a magazine produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Symptoms include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Between 4 and 12 per cent of children have ADHD, but boys outnumber girls three to one. A child with ADHD may have a [...]
Yes, Sleep Matters
Is your high schooler (or middle schooler) driving you crazy with her sleep schedule? If you think it matters, you’re right! A new study (reported in Science), measures how an all-nighter impacts the ability to learn new information. Your child may not (yet) be doing all-nighters, but the study “suggests that just as sleep is [...]
AAP says Kids Need to Play
Stunning “finding” from the American Academy of Pediatrics says that all the pressure of school, homework, and structured extra-curricular activities is stressing our children. A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says free and unstructured play is healthy and – in fact – essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and [...]
Ad Targets Dangers of Teen Driving
“The #1 killer of teenagers doesn’t have a trigger.” The headline from a new ad (warning: pdf) focusing on teen driving couldn’t be more prescient as our news is dominated by school killings in Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The message is powerful and true – though it isn’t “news” so you won’t see it on [...]
