On Sleep and its Deprivation

[Tupac]

Before I worried about my medical I would take 2 benadryl before sleepy time - I was out cold in 30 minutes.

Tell all your friends to try that at about 8:30 - they wont wake up sleepy.

[MachFly]

Before I worried about my medical I would take 2 benadryl before sleepy time - I was out cold in 30 minutes.

Tell all your friends to try that at about 8:30 - they wont wake up sleepy.

What's benadryl? Is that the thing that someone puts it someone else's drink in the movies so they would fall asleep? If it is that shouldn't it be harmful for you when used on daily bases?
I tried googling for it but was blown away with all the medical terminology.

[Tupac]

What's benadryl? Is that the thing that someone puts it someone else's drink in the movies so they would fall asleep? If it is that shouldn't it be harmful for you when used on daily bases?
I tried googling for it but was blown away with all the medical terminology.

It's this little pink antihystamine - and ones if its sideaffects is extreme drowsiness.

I take allegra now -  non-drowsy and it relieves my allergies.

[MachFly]

It's this little pink antihystamine - and ones if its sideaffects is extreme drowsiness.

I take allegra now -  non-drowsy and it relieves my allergies.

Roger

[B-17]

This is interesting to me, because I am an individual who requires a lot of sleep. Since I was born, I've slept ridiculous amounts. 18 hours a day was not uncommon. Now that I am a teenager, which means that I am naturally a selfish, miserable hulk. but back on topic, I have heard. From a number of different places/people that for every hour of sleep earned BEFORE midnight, the brain thinks it has actually received 2 hours of sleep. I walk to school in the winter. I live in Canada. I wake up at around 5 45-ish every school morning. If I don't go to bed by 10 30 or so, I will die in the first ciuple of periods. (School starts at 8. Calculate how long a walk that is, with 30 mins prep time.) IMO, if you find yourself tired, do a couple of things. First, simplify your mornings. Shower at night, pack lunch/backpack at night, whatever. Second, go to bed at least an hour before midnight. It will help. Also, to the adults who have posted, do remember that we are not adults. We are teenagers. just my 0.02$.

[GNucks]

Also, to the adults who have posted, do remember that we are not adults. We are teenagers. just my 0.02$.

Also, to the teenagers who have posted, do remember that we were teenagers too. We are adults.

[gyrene81]

   penguin is at it again hey? i can see by your essay that you selected only data that supports your theory and left out other important data that was included in the studies you referenced, as in other physiological issues, socio-economic issues, environmental issues, etc... when you reference a person with a degree such as phd or md, you need to show their title. for instance the quoted studies of dr. mary carskadan or mary carskadan phd.

i'd give you a c for the effort, but that's just me.

oh and what canacka said...

That pushed back hour you speak of is in relation to when teens go to bed.  They stay up watching more t.v. and playing on their computers.  It's not puberty that has pushed back the hour, it's actions that they have taken over time that causes them to push their sleep cycle back.  It can be a problem for some to go to bed earlier all of a sudden, but they can re-train their brain to get back to a more acceptable cycle.  Adults that work different shifts during the week can do it and yes, some complain about it, but it is doable.  Teens have never experienced having to do that so it seems that it's impossible.  What I mean by that is what you haven't experienced gives you no reference such as what you thought was the worst pain you ever felt before and what you would classify as a 10 on the pain scale, changes when you experience pain that actually is worse. Give it a try, and keep trying.  It will get easier.  

change your lifestyle, you're a highly adaptable life form.

[WYOKIDIII]

 

[killb8]

Early start times exacerbate this problem, and students must then cope with drowsiness, depression crime, death and maiming by horrific automobile crashes, and worst of all, reduced academic performance.

Worst of all grades! I think you should re-prioritize your values! lol

[Masherbrum]

 penguin is at it again hey? i can see by your essay that you selected only data that supports your theory and left out other important data that was included in the studies you referenced, as in other physiological issues, socio-economic issues, environmental issues, etc... when you reference a person with a degree such as phd or md, you need to show their title. for instance the quoted studies of dr. mary carskadan or mary carskadan phd.

i'd give you a c for the effort, but that's just me.

oh and what canacka said...change your lifestyle, you're a highly adaptable life form.

 .   

[Buzzard7]

Suck it up and learn how to put yourself to sleep earlier. You whine like the end-dump drivers we have at work.

[LCCajun]

All I am going to say is go to bed early enough to get the sleep your body requires. The school does not need to change their times simply b/c kids want them to. This is not a good argument to have them change their times. I get up at 4am and work 12hr and some time 16hr shifts. I still find time to eat, spend time with the family, and recreational time. School is a process of trying to help kids grow into responsible adults. They dont' need to cater to kids that is what is wrong with kids today they are handed everything and never have to work for it. I had a job when I was 12 on my uncles rice farm I had to wake up at 5 so I could get some work done before school and after school I went straight back to work. I always had time to do my homework. I still had time for school got a 3.0 gpa and still had time to spend with my friends. Oh and I didn't have to rely on my parents to buy me anything. So my advice is to grow up and be responsible stop trying to have things catered for you way of living.

[Tordon22]

"Large scholarly work" made me lol a bit, sorry but I was expecting a link to a phd thesis .

That said, your paper is still tl;dr for me, god bless my work ethic!

J/K

In an attempt to be somewhat helpful I will make some "micro" suggestions.


You could really help out your second to last paragraph if you can find some stats on the other local schools who've switched their starting times. I didn't follow your link (lazy), so I'm not sure if they just made the change very recently or not. But if they haven't, what are the trends in their standardized test scores? Athletic Scores? You could grab an opinion or couple of quotes from an administrator in one of the schools who've made the switch. It would be much more influential if you made a point of saying, 10 other schools in our district have made the change and have already seen major improvements in attendance and XX% improvements on standardized tests/whatever you can find. Than if you were just to say 10 other schools have already changed to later starting times.

Also, check the SP on your REP.

[Penguin]

Your not following me. You said that school needs to start later to that kids could have more sleep and that going to bed earlier will not help. In that case the only variable that's left is the position of the sun. So what about places where you have the same time over a large area? It's not like it's easier to wake up if you are more to the east.

Going to bed earlier would help.  However, due to the shift in sleep cycles that's just not possible.  It's like asking a thousand (approximately the number of students in my high school) grown men to fall asleep at 19:00 or 20:00.  Sure, a few might pull it off, but almost everyone else will be lying awake until around 21:00.

Your point about Arizona versus California is interesting, but it's well after nightfall at 22:00-23:00.  The only exception could be the summer, but there isn't any school then.

-Penguin

[grizz441]

Penguin, I thought it was convincing, but that it was a little far fetched about automobile accidents.  Even if you want to keep those points in if there is data to back it up, fine, but your conclusion

To conclude, Walpole’s students are depressed, numb and tired every morning.  It is not their fault; their melatonin cycles have shifted, leaving them lagging behind everyone else.  Early start times exacerbate this problem, and students must then cope with drowsiness, depression crime, death and maiming by horrific automobile crashes, and worst of all, reduced academic performance.

needs some serious work.  It comes off as very whiney and exaggerated and that a high school student wrote it.  Especially the line "death and maiming by horrific automobile crashes".  I said Give me a freakin' break when I read that.  I don't think you want your target audience to think you are full of **** when they finish your paper.  And reduced academic performance is worse than getting killed in an automobile crash?  

Your best bet would be to stick to believable points, such as statistics showing that later start times are a good thing.  I personally thought the increased accidents was a stretch.  Unless, thirty minutes to an hour longer from start times there is less work traffic or if there is some overnight frost on the ground, it has been given a chance to melt.  Things like that, I don't buy that having a little less sleep is going to cause more accidents.   I also thought it was a great point about later school end times bridges the gap between when most parents get home from work and keep teens out of trouble that way but you didn't expand upon it or even mention it in your conclusion.

I also did not like the line about walking "undead" in a serious toned paper.