What do kids associate school? Lessons, homework, friends…And the parents? I’m sure many will respond that school is a daily battle for an early rise. Why is it so difficult to raise a child to school? Scientists gave the explanation.
Suffer teenagers
To be fair: not all children are equally hard to get up. There are early birds. But basically all the “easy” upgrades to school – a lot of the younger students. In adolescence students are becoming dormice to Wake them up in the morning is almost impossible. The study of this problem took Kyle Walstrom, senior researcher at the University of Minnesota.
His research Kyle has dedicated 20 years. And found that adolescents not vrednichaet and do not scoff at the parents. Their biological clock is arranged so that phase of sleep lose. Early in the morning and they actually physically can’t Wake up.
Blame melatonin
Our sleep (as well as other cyclic processes in the body) regulates the hormone melatonin, which is produced in the brain. Studies have shown that, during sleep, melatonin secretion in humans is increased. Scientists believe that melatonin opens the so-called “gates of sleep”, and gives a person a signal that the period of wakefulness it is time to finish.
In addition, melatonin stimulates normal immune system and slows the aging process. Therefore, those who do not neglect a full bed, live longer and remain active.
The physiological shift
But back to teenage dream. As found by Kyle Walstrom, at the beginning of puberty, the rhythm of melatonin secretion is changed. Sleep teenagers start later – drowsiness overcomes them only about 23 hours. And even if the student manages to go to bed early, he probably will just stare at the ceiling until 11 PM.
But to Wake up before 8 am for the teenagers becomes a real torture. And at the same time, their younger brothers and sisters easily Wake up at 7 am. Who gets the parents? Of course, the older one.
What to do? To transfer lessons
What would it be? Unfortunately, this shot down the rhythm, but still a large amount of homework, lead to the fact that teenagers sleep less than the prescribed 8-10 hours. That’s how much they need to properly recover. But if children sleep less than this norm, it may have an impact on behaviour. A sense of despondency and hopelessness attends sleepy teenagers very often.
In their study, Kyle Walstrom notes that schools that have decided to move the start of the school day, won. Teenagers use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol in these schools has decreased, but the performance has grown. And by the way, the rescheduling of classes may help relieve aggressive behavior, typical of many teenagers. The fact that a sleepy brain can’t concentrate in class, and the hormones of a teenager requires active. To study the explosion was not directed – the brain couldn’t think straight, so everything goes into aggressive (as it seems to adults) behavior.
Well, if life circumstances force you to spend the night without sleep learn how to sleep through the night and survive the next day.