Sleep for Better Living

Activity:

Lack of sleep can cause short-term and long-term effects, from being grumpy to affecting school grades. Do the Sleep Walking Relay activity to demonstrate and understand the impact being sleepy and tired has on everyday life.

Checklists and handouts on sleep:

Sleep Guidelines for 4-H events

Sleep Guidelines at Camp

Research on the importance of sleep:

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/

Video showing the teenage brain and sleep:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02sfacq392&continuous=1

Educational Materials:

Happy Campers (.ppt)

Sleepless in America

Sleepless in America is a documentary about the importance of sleep, what is causing this lack of sleep, and the consequences of sleeplessness. Here are some facts from the documentary about what sleeplessness:

70% of teens do not get the recommended amount of sleep and there is up to a 40% reduction in school performance when a child is sleep deprived.
Decision-making skills, reaction time, situational awareness, memory, communication all decrease by 20-50% (Mark Rosekind, National Transportation Safety Board).
There is evidence that chronic lack of sleep can lead to increased risk for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer's disease.

Teens in the Driver Seat

Did you know that 1 in 7 licensed drivers ages 16-24 admitted to nodding off behind the wheel at least once in the past year? (Drowsydriving.org) That’s a lot of nodding drivers! So, what can we do about it?

Evaluate yourself and your alertness each time you are about to get behind the wheel. If you’ve had several nights of little sleep or have been up for many hours – don’t drive. When you are behind the wheel, know the signs of drowsiness - difficulty focusing, daydreaming, or yawning repeatedly. To help stay alert, open the windows, take a break, sing along to your radio, or have a cold drink. Finally, if you know you are in no condition to be behind the wheel, don’t be afraid to ask for help from parents or friends who can give you a ride.You have a lot to live for; let’s keep our drive alive! Find out more at t-driver.com.

One way you can help is by starting a peer-to-peer safety program and t-driver can help you begin by providing videos, presentations, posters, activity ideas, free educational materials (pencils, banners, thumb rings, car air fresheners), t-shirts for members and much more. For more information about how you can lead a Teens in the Driver Seat campaign contact Anne Iaccopucci at amiaccopucci@ucanr.edu