Sleep Blog

A survey conducted at a high school in suburban Philadelphia, conducted by a team comprised of one of the school’s students and her father, a sleep specialist, to learn what sleep-deprived teens thought of starting school days later in the morning, as well as having tests given later in the school day which may result in better grades. The survey’s findings was presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on May 20, 2007.

The survey of 280 high school students confirmed what most parents with a teenager know: the students are not getting enough sleep. More sleep would translate into improved academic performance, according to the teens questioned. They all attended Harriton High School in suburban Philadelphia, where the school day begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 2:25 p.m.

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Is sleep essential? Ask that question to a sleep-deprived new parent or a student who has just pulled an "all-nighter," and the answer will be a grouchy, "Of course!"

But to a sleep scientist, the question of what constitutes sleep is so complex that scientists are still trying to define the essential function of something we do every night. A study published this week in PLoS Biology by Chiara Cirelli and Giulio Tononi addresses this pressing question.

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