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Guidance for Grown-Ups
April 2008
Why Teens Need Their ZZZs
This Discussion Guide contains the following Activity Sections:
- The Answers to Your Questions
- Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice
- Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options
I. The Answers to Your Questions The purpose of this activity is to help teens evaluate their personal sleep patterns and compare them to other members of the group.
- When adults have trouble staying within their finances, experts suggest that they keep track of every expense for one month. When athletes are training for a major competition, one common way to reach that goal is by keeping a record of each daily achievement. Believe it or not, getting enough sleep as a teen can be an achievement! Teens may be surprised by their own sleep patterns when they discover how much sleep they actually get. Hand out paper and pencils and ask the teens to write down what time they went to bed and woke up every day for the last seven days. Ask them to tally their daily hours of sleep, the average per night for the week, and the week’s total. What surprises them about this exercise? Can they see any patterns?
- Now ask the teens to conduct a group study. On a wipe board, write down all seven days of the week, then ask each group member to write her hours of sleep for every day. Each day needs a volunteer to calculate the entire group’s average amount of sleep for that day. Another volunteer can calculate the entire group’s weekly average. Does the group notice any trends? For example, on what night of the week did the group get the most sleep? How about the least? Are there any explanations for these trends?
- Sleep is a great thing! Ask the teens to free write either about one their best dreams ever, or about a morning when they felt fully refreshed and recharged for the day ahead. Tell them to let loose and be as descriptive as possible; no one has to share what she wrote. For fun, check out a dream dictionary to see what that great dream meant.
- If this is a group that feels comfortable sharing with each other, ask them to line up in order of the person who gets the least to the person who gets the most average sleep per week. Are there any commonalities among the ends of the line? Since everyone’s sleep needs are different, make sure you ask those who feel they get enough sleep to step forward, and those who wish they could get more sleep to step backward. Is it what the teens expected? Why or why not?
Resources
Keep a sleep diary - www.shuteye.com/sleep-solutions/sleep-patterns/sleep-diary.aspx
Comprehensive dream website, including dream dictionary - www.dreammoods.com
II. Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice The purpose of this activity is to inform teens about the benefits of sleep, the costs of sleep deprivation, and tips for sleeping better.
- Ask the teens to read “Sleep Deprivation Among Adolescents” by Devon Doherty and “Sleep: Just What the Doctor Ordered.”
- Many people have routines for winding down before they go to bed. Some people even practice specific techniques for relaxation as they lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. Ask the teens to learn about some possible relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, or yoga. Would one teen volunteer to lead the group through a relaxation exercise?
- Ask the teens to read, “Tips on Getting a Good Night’s Sleep.” Have them vote on which tip they believe is most effective. Do they have any other tips from their own experience?
- Sleeping too much or too little can be a sign of stress or anxiety. Ask the teens to read “My Life,” by Colleen Mokler. Does her story sound familiar? Based on what the teens have learned about sleep deprivation, what kind of advice would they give Colleen if she was their friend and she was having trouble sleeping?
Resources
How to Perform Progressive Muscle Relaxation - www.wikihow.com/Perform-Progressive-Muscle-Relaxation
“Did you know?” from the Teen Voices stress section
Video
“Need to relax? Take a break to meditate” - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/MM00623
III. Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options The purpose of this activity is to think about sleep as a renewable community resource.
- Are teens who are healthy and get enough sleep better prepared to uphold the public’s trust in their role in the community – as a student, as a family member, as a member of a faith community, as an employee, or as a team member? How much does sleep matter? Give the teens time to take a position in writing on whether or not teen sleep is a “renewable community resource.” (To help explain, offer an analogy such as number of trees in a community and how they improve overall air quality.)
- 2. Sometimes the community fails teens. Ask them to read, “There’s Stress—And Then There’s Stress.” Ask the teens to assess whether or not their community presents barriers to getting good sleep. (They can look for their city at “How well does your city sleep?” - www.shuteye.com/pressrelease/sleep-city.aspx.) Finally, ask the teens to give their community a report card on supporting teen stress reduction and sleep promotion!
- Not all young people have the basic necessities required for quality sleep. Some may not be safe from the elements or from dangerous people; some may not have a bed. Give the teens time to consider their personal situation in comparison to the rest of the world. To do so they can look into the work of Sleeping Children Around the World - www.scaw.org/. Then ask the teens to talk or write about what part of sleeping they most value – is it the privacy of their own bedroom? Do they have the softest comforter ever felt? Have they moved recently into a neighborhood that is darker or quieter, helping them get to sleep more easily?
- What do the teens think about the idea of starting a school day later and ending it later? What would be the best time frame to attend school? Ask the teens to organize a mock school board meeting. Make sure all the following are in attendance: school board president, school board members (2+), parent, student, superintendent, high school principal, high school teacher, high school guidance counselor, basketball coach, high school police officer, (and any additional roles assigned by the teen). Ask the school board president to call the meeting to order and open up discussion about passing a policy that would change the school day to 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
- Lack of sleep can affect a teen’s athletic performance, which then impacts the overall team performance. The same can be said of teens involved in choir, theater, yearbook, or any group effort. Ask teens to write a contract for their respective “teams” that asks all team members to commit to enough sleep, for the common good.
Note for adults: If teens reveal safety concerns—such as neglect, abuse, or violence—during any of these sleep discussions, be sure to consult with the appropriate professionals.
Resources
School Start Time resources - www.sleepforscience.org/resources/start.php
“Sleep and Sports,” - www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.2419139/k.AE9B/Sleep_and_Sports_Get_the_Winning_Edge.htm
Have you used Guidance for Grown-ups with your class or teen group?
Tell us which ones you used and what kind of success you had with it. Did you put your own spin on it? Let us know.
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