ation Network). Another way to combat teenage sleep deprivation is through providing better education on the matter. The information that most teenagers receive on the affects of sleep deprivation is minimal. For example, though a North Carolina state study showed that most sleep-related automobile accidents involve individuals under the age of 25 (National Sleep Foundation, Crashes), sixty percent of parents with children old enough to drive admitted that they hadnt discussed that danger of falling asleep at the wheel with their child (National Sleep Foundation, Dozing). Between seventy-three and eighty-five percent of parents believe that their children should receive just as much time learning about good sleep habits at school as they do learning about exercise and nutrition (National Sleep Federation, Dozing).Sleep experts feel really strongly that high school timings are out of sync with the natural circadian rhythms of adolescents, commented Michele Kipke, head of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Children, Youth and Families (Kaufman). One way to correct this inconsistency would be to start the school day later. Because of their unique sleep needs, teenagers brains are not ready to be alert until long after the typical high school day has begun, said Richard Gelula, Nation Sleep Foundation Executive (National Sleep Foundation, Adapt). Most high schools in the United States begin school between 7:15 and 7:45 (Kaufman). This is a problem because teenagers require around nine hours of sleep per night, but often times cannot fall asleep until eleven at night (Kaufman). Gelula added that even teens who get the correct amount of sleep, because of their internal clock, tend to be sleepy in the mid-morning and alert later in the mid-afternoon (National Sleep Foundation, Adapt). Responding to recent research on teenage sleep, many school districts have changed their starting times to later in the morning, most notably in Minne...
