7:00 PM School Committee
Special Meeting
Presented by
Mary Carskadon, PhD.
“Challenging Student Excellence” |
“Adolescent Sleep Needs and Patterns”
I.
Meeting
Organization
A. Call
to Order
1) The meeting was called to order at
B. Pledge
of Allegiance
C.
Roll Call Present: Chairperson
Hueston, Barry Martasian, Bill Mudge
Absent:
Administration Present: James M. Halley, Ed.D
II.
Introductions were made by
III. Dr. Carskadon’s research
A. Dr. Carskadon
opened her lecture by stating that it had been determined that the causes of three
famous environmental accidents of the twentieth century, Three Mile Island,
Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez, were related to inadequate sleep along with
other factors.
B. Dr. Carskadon
described sleep and its different stages, and stated that adolescents need
approximately 9 hours of sleep each night.
The longer they get insufficient sleep, the sleepier they become each
day. With inadequate sleep, youngsters
“crash and burn” later in the day. Teens
have a more difficult time in the morning, and are better in the afternoon.
C. Sleep has an
effect on learning and memory. The more often someone goes without sleeping for
long periods their memory becomes increasingly less fit. In cities where the high school start time was
changed to later in the morning,
1) There were no
reported changes in bedtimes
2) Attendance
increased while tardiness decreased
3) The dropout rate
decreased
4) School change rate
decreased
5) Students were less
tired in class
6) Fewer problems
with depression, attention and concentration difficulties
7) Sleep disorders,
when treated, seem to improve
D.
Students
who go to school early in the morning, after getting very little sleep the
night before, can have problems with
1)
A poorer
school performance
2)
Substance
use (alcohol and caffeine)
3)
Depressed
moods
4)
Lower
self esteem
5)
Poor
mood regulation
6)
Learning
difficulties
7)
Poor
immune function
8)
Obesity
E.
Dr.
Carskadon suggested parents improve family and student sleep habits by
1)
Making
sleep a positive priority
2)
Planning
sleep schedules
3)
Avoiding
evening light exposure
4)
Enhancing
morning light exposure
5)
Reducing
weekend lag by not allowing teens to sleep past
6)
Remove
televisions and other sleep distractions from children’s bedrooms
F.
Dr.
Carskadon said that it is a common belief that people need less sleep as they
mature, but her research has disproved that theory. To learn more information about Dr.
Carskadon’s research, please go to www.sleepforscience.com.
IV.
Members/Citizens’ Comments
(Members of the audience were not stating
their names and addresses when they asked their questions.)
A.
Someone
in the audience questioned if a nap in the afternoon to catch up on sleep is
beneficial. Dr. Carskadon replied that a
nap would make a person feel better in the short term, but that evening they
may find it difficult to fall asleep and they would not be any better off the
next morning.
B.
School
Committee member, Bill Mudge, asked if Dr. Carskadon had worked with the Rhode Island
Department of Education in working out how to change start times at high
schools. She replied that she had not;
however, she has worked with the National Institute of Health and asked for
their guidance as school districts do need help in making this situation
better.
C.
Mr.
Mudge asked if there is any type of federal funding available. Dr. Carskadon responded that there was
something called the “Z’s to A’s” bill sponsored by Joe Luftgren
which never made it out of committee.
D.
Another
audience member was curious as to the dollar value, or costs involved, in
changing the start time at high schools.
Dr. Carskadon stated that she does not have that data, but believes that
it is a great research question for someone in her department at Brown.
V.
There was no Motion to Adjourn
The meeting ended at
approximately
Respectfully submitted,
_______________________________________
Konnie
M. Mazur
Approved