Sleep Key to Learning

"He is a fool who leaves things close at hand to follow what is out of reach."  - Plutarch

SLEEP KEY TO LEARNING

The Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0529/p02s01-ussc.html) reports that educators are recognizing the positive relationship between sleep and learning.  As a result, some schools are starting later in the morning. This angers some parents. But some educational experts are delighted. The dichotomous views epitomize the split over a growing experiment in American education.  Thirty-eight school districts in 18 states have changed start times, according to the National Sleep Foundation, and another 108 districts are considering the switch. Opponents -- including some teachers, administrators, most coaches, and many parents -- balk at the change in routine, pointing out that children might still be sleeping when parents leave for work, and worrying that after-school sports and jobs will be squeezed for time. Proponents say the move could improve attendance, alleviate student depression, lower dropout rates and the frequency of teenage car accidents, and eventually improve academic achievement. When school starts at 7 a.m., the teenage brain is "still seeking to be asleep," says Kyla Wahlstrom, a researcher at the University of Minnesota. "This isn't anything that's under the control of the students; it's something that has to happen ... to maximize the development of the brain."

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