Презентация "Late Nights and Laziness"- материал для Speaker's Corner

Late nights and laziness

1. What time did you go to bed last night?
2. Did you fall asleep straight away?
3. What time did you wake up this morning?
4. Did you feel rested in the morning?
5. Do you usually get enough sleep?

 “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”, said Benjamin Franklin. But does this apply to teenagers? Is there an explanation for the almost universal tendency among adolescents to stay up late at night and wake up later in the morning? Many teens have the energy to play computer games in the early hours but can’t get out of bed in time for school. Is this just laziness and bad behavior?

Scientists researching later sleep and wake patterns among adolescents have found that they are biologically determined. They found out that there is a “darkness hormone” melatonin in our body, which helps us to fall asleep. Most adults start to produce melatonin at about 10 pm. When teenagers were studied in a sleep laboratory, researchers discovered that they only began to produce the hormone at 1 am.

Whether late nights are caused by biology or behaviour makes no difference - many teenagers are sleep deprived. A recent poll has shown that 60% of young people at the age of 18 complained of being tired during the day, and 15% said that they fell asleep at school during the year. Lack of sleep can lead to moodiness, impulsivity and depression, and over time has very serious consequences on progress, social behavior, and health.

 In America some schools have delayed the start of their classes to give their teenagers some extra time in bed. One school noticed a great improvement in the progress of its students.

Many experts agree that adolescents need about 8 – 9 hours of sleep each night, but few manage this at a regular basis. Yet sleep is important for teenagers because while they are taking a nap their organism produces a hormone that is necessary for their growth. Teenagers need more sleep than both children and adults, but they get less than either.