The word on the street is: you need some more sleep. Not just you, but your kids need more, too. And, if I you don't mind, I could use a nap as well.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A longtime alderman is calling for hearings on sleep deprivation in teenagers and the possibility of changing the start times of Chicago public schools to help students get more rest.

Northwest Side Ald. Margaret Laurino, 39th, introduced her resolution to the City Council on Wednesday after a recent Tribune article that detailed an American Academy of Pediatrics study calling on the nation's educators to push back school start times to 8:30 a.m. or later.

 

I'm tempted to say, "If it was good enough for us, it's good enough for today's kids!" However...

Researchers have found that in addition to teens having many extracurricular activities and homework that keep them up late on school nights, changes in internal circadian clocks that coincide with the onset of puberty make it difficult for kids to fall asleep as early as when they were younger.

 

Who am I to argue circadian clocks? Others are arguing that the entire nation is sleep-deprived. From The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website:

Sleep is increasingly recognized as important to public health, with sleep insufficiency linked to motor vehicle crashes, industrial disasters, and medical and other occupational errors.1 Unintentionally falling asleep, nodding off while driving, and having difficulty performing daily tasks because of sleepiness all may contribute to these hazardous outcomes. Persons experiencing sleep insufficiency are also more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as from cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity.1 Sleep insufficiency may be caused by broad scale societal factors such as round-the-clock access to technology and work schedules, but sleep disorders such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea also play an important role.1 An estimated 50-70 million US adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder.

 

I figure that after reading all this, if you weren't tired before, you might be getting a little sleepy. Like these people:

Have a great (and hopefully restful) weekend.

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