If you follow the news, Southborough isn’t the only town concerned about sleep deprived teenagers. It’s a concern that’s gained national traction and being investigated by many area schools.
A neighboring school district is holding a public event with advice on how to improve sleep for teens. Parents, middle schoolers, and high schoolers are invited. And they are encouraging our community to join them.
The presentation is put on by Westorough Public Schools in partnership with Westborough Chapter-Start School Later. But this focus isn’t on school hours. It’s on getting to sleep.
Sleepy Teens: How Teens’ Brains Are Wired Differently For Sleep and What To Do About It
Presented by: Dr. Katherine Sharkey, MD, PhD, Medical Director-University Medicine Sleep Center; Assistant Professor, Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital
Thursday, May 14, 2015
7:00 – 8:30
Westborough High School Auditorium
(Jr. and Sr. High School Students encouraged to attend)Join national sleep expert, Dr. Katherine Sharkey, for a stimulating discussion about healthy teen sleep. Take away a better understanding of teen sleep and new ideas to improve it.
- Not feeling tired at bedtime? What’s going on?
- How can sleep improve sports performance?
- How does sleep debt affect learning, attention, memory?
- What can you do to get a better night’s sleep?
- How can you defeat weekend “jetlag” and wake refreshed on Monday?
- What happens when you pull an “all-nighter?”
- What is the connection between sleep and mood?
Last night’s channel 5 news had a segment featuring the town of Sharon. They have moved their high school start time from 7:20 to after 8:00 (sorry, I didn’t catch the actual new start time). They were reporting the great benefits that they have seen by doing this and are hoping that it catches on. Did anyone else happen to see it?
http://www.wcvb.com/news/do-school-start-times-lead-to-better-learning-experience/32880854
Here is a link to the story. It basically says nothing except that one teacher anecdotally believes things are better. There is no evidence presented that anything changed for the better and nothing was present on how they were able to make the change.