Author: engeladmin

Author: Liu, Xianchen Description: STUDY OBJECTIVES: Suicide risk begins to increase during adolescence. Adolescents do not get enough sleep and are also at risk for many sleep disturbances. This study examined the association between sleep patterns and sleep problems and adolescent suicidal behavior. DESIGN AND SETTING: A questionnaire survey of adolescents attending school was conducted in one prefecture of Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1,362 adolescents attending school (mean age 14.6 years, 60% males) participated in the survey. MEASUREMENTS: Respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire that…

Author: Wahistrom, Kyla Description: In the early 1990s, medical research found that teenagers have biologically different sleep and wake patterns than the preadolescent or adult population. On the basis of that information, in 1997 the seven comprehensive high schools in the Minneapolis Public School District shifted the school start time from 7:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. This article examines that change, finding significant benefits such as improved attendance and enrollment rates, less sleeping in class, and less student-reported depression. Policy implications are briefly discussed, acknowledging this to be a highly…

Author: Carskadon, Mary A. Description: A reduction in sleep amount from late childhood through the second decade has long been known; however, the weight of current evidence holds that sleep need does not decline across this span. This article will describe how the loss of sleep through adolescence is not driven by lower need for sleep but arises from a convergence of biologic, psychological, and socio-cultural influences. Subject headings: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Affect; Circadian Rhythm; Humans; Sleep Publication year: 2011 Journal or book title: Pediatric Clinics of North America Volume:…

Author: Owens, Judith A.; Belon, Katherine; Moss, Patricia Description: OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of a 30-minute delay in school start time on adolescents’ sleep, mood, and behavior. DESIGN: Participants completed the online retrospective Sleep Habits Survey before and after a change in school start time. SETTING: An independent high school in Rhode Island. PARTICIPANTS: Students (n = 201) in grades 9 through 12. Intervention Institution of a delay in school start time from 8 to 8:30 am. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sleep patterns and behavior, daytime sleepiness, mood, data from…

Author: Killgore, William D. S. Description: Sleep deprivation is commonplace in modern society, but its far-reaching effects on cognitive performance are only beginning to be understood from a scientific perspective. While there is broad consensus that insufficient sleep leads to a general slowing of response speed and increased variability in performance, particularly for simple measures of alertness, attention and vigilance, there is much less agreement about the effects of sleep deprivation on many higher level cognitive capacities, including perception, memory and executive functions. Central to this debate has been the…

Author: Besedovsky, Luciana; Lange, Tanja; Born, Jan Description: Sleep and the circadian system exert a strong regulatory influence on immune functions. Investigations of the normal sleep-wake cycle showed that immune parameters like numbers of undifferentiated naïve T cells and the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines exhibit peaks during early nocturnal sleep whereas circulating numbers of immune cells with immediate effector functions, like cytotoxic natural killer cells, as well as anti-inflammatory cytokine activity peak during daytime wakefulness. Although it is difficult to entirely dissect the influence of sleep from that of the…

Author: Carskadon, M. A.; Vieira, C.; Acebo, C. Description: Many teenagers go to bed and wake up significantly later than younger children, a developmental progression thought to reflect adolescent psychosocial processes. To determine whether biological processes may underlie a delay of phase preference in adolescents, 183 sixth-grade boys and 275 sixth-grade girls completed questionnaires for morningness/eveningness (M/E) and pubertal status. School environment and birth order were also evaluated. A significant relationship of pubertal status to M/E was found in girls, with a similar though nonsignificant trend in boys. No relationship…