Netflix vs sleep

This article discusses how the CEO of Netflix doesn't worry about competition from streaming services like Amazon or HBO. Instead, the CEO worries about the human need to sleep a third of our lives. Because when we sleep, we aren't able to watch Netflix. What an interesting perspective. As a sleep-deprived species, I worry about the effect of Netflix on sleep duration! I guess the relationship is bidirectional.

More sleep helps children in school

Here is an article about how more sleep helps kids - seems obvious but at least here is some scientific evidence. For kids that got more sleep, they were less emotional, better focused, and better behaved. There are some good tips in the article for parents as well - monitor for sleepiness, which should be relatively low at a elementary age if they are getting enough sleep.

Smoking associated with disturbed sleep.

Here is a link to an article about a study showing how smoking is linked to reduced sleep amounts and more disturbed sleep compared to non-smokers. It could be the nicotine, but also other factors could disrupt sleep.

Puberty and deep sleep

This article discusses research showing that deep sleep is necessary for adequate hormone levels in puberty. Insufficient or disturbed sleep may impact development by interfering with this process. So make sure your tweener is getting enough sleep - adequate sleep is competing these days with screen time from iPads. iPhones, etc.

Short sleep duration and breast cancer

This article discusses research showing an association between post-menopausal women with short sleep durations and aggressive breast cancer. There was no association between the aggressiveness of the cancer and sleep duration in pre-menopausal women. The researchers obtained sleep duration by asking the women how long they slept on average, and this method is not the most accurate. It's not clear why the link between short sleep duration and aggressiveness of breast cancer - it could be that insufficient sleep causes our bodies to be in a chronically inflamed state, which perhaps may be more advantageous for certain tumors. More studies are needed to see if better or more sleep could reduce the aggressiveness of breast and other cancers.

Teenagers worry about lost sleep

This article discusses research showing that some teenagers are worried about not getting enough sleep. This is not new, but is of concern. Children and adolescents need sleep to be maximize academic potential and health. At the end of the article, it discusses how increased screen time (such as TV, computer, and smart phone use) contribute to lost sleep.

Insufficient Sleep in Adolescents Linked to Health-Risk Behaviors

There is a study in Preventive Medicine by the CDC examining the associations between insufficient sleep, defined as less than 8 hours on average on school nights, and health-risk behaviors. Researchers used survey data from 12,154 U.S. high school students. They found that sleeping less than 8 hours on school nights was associated with a higher risk of the following: cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use; current sexual activity; feeling sad or hopeless and seriously considered attempting suicide; physical fighting, not being physically active, computer use at least 3 hours per day, and drinking soda more than 1 time per day. There was no difference in the amount of television watched between those who slept more or less than 8 hours.

The study authors concluded that insufficient sleep was associated with many health-risk behaviors and that lack of adequate sleep may be a warning sign for parents that their teenagers could have other problems.

I don't believe that the study authors think that teenagers will engage in more healthy behaviors if they get more sleep on school nights. I do wonder if the associations are as strong if teens make up for the lost sleep on the weekends.