42. Helping Teens Get The Sleep They Need

Humans may spend about a third of their lives asleep, but the average time at slumber dips dramatically during the teen years. Yet, the physical, mental, and emotional health of adolescents and young adults depends desperately on sufficient time to rest, recuperate, and dream. Amy and Mike invited program manager for Start School Later of Sleep 101 Kari Oakes to offer strategies for helping teens get the sleep they need.  What are five things you will learn in this episode? How much sleep do teens need and are they getting it? How does inadequate sleep hurt a teen? What benefits accrue when a teen gets enough sleep? What can families do to support teens getting the sleep they need? What can school administrators and teachers do to support teens getting the sleep they need? MEET OUR GUEST Kari Oakes is a medical writer who also trained and has practiced as a physician assistant. She is on the Executive Committee of Start School Later, a grassroots, all-volunteer nonprofit that is dedicated to healthy, safe, equitable school hours, and she is the program manager for Start School Later of Sleep 101, an award-winning, online, interactive sleep health education curriculum for high school and college students. Kari, who currently lives in Middleton, Wisconsin, is also the mother of two young adult children, and reluctantly woke them as early as 5:50 a.m. for a 6:20 am bus and 7:17 high school start time. Find Kari at [email protected] LINKS Sleep 101 Start School Later -  Helping Your Teen get More Sleep ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page.