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Teaching teenagers how to sleep

Study shows promise for improving adolescent shut-eye

Teenagers are notoriously sleep deprived. But a new study shows hope for school-based intervention in improving the sleep habits of adolescents. In a press published on the Science Daily website, project supervisor Michael Gradisar lauds the benefits of the approach, which has been published in the March 1 issue of Sleep. Gradisar, senior lecturer in clinical child psychology at Flinders University in South Australia, says that the school-based model, which consisted of four, 50-minute classes over a month, has shown to be a cost-effective way to promote healthy sleep knowledge and practice. The program taught the teenagers to minimize their intake of caffeine and alcohol intake, cut down on stimulating activities at night, wake up at the same time every day and get exposure to bright light in the morning. Despite the positive results, Gradisar said getting teens to resist sleeping in on the weekends was a major hurdle.

Science Daily

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