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posted by chromas on Tuesday September 25 2018, @05:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the http://i.imgur.com/z4z67Ur.gif dept.

Opinion | Let Teenagers Sleep In

Three out of every four students in grades 9 to 12 fail to sleep the minimum of eight hours that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends for their age group. And sleep deprivation is unremittingly bad news. Anyone who talks about sleep as if it's some kind of inconvenience and getting less of it is a virtue should be challenged. These people are dangerous.

At its most basic, insufficient sleep results in reduced attention and impaired memory, hindering student progress and lowering grades. More alarmingly, sleep deprivation is likely to lead to mood and emotional problems, increasing the risk of mental illness. Chronic sleep deprivation is also a major risk factor for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cancer. As if this weren't enough, it also makes falling asleep at the wheel much more likely.

In 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., a policy now backed by the American Medical Association, the C.D.C. and many other health organizations.

[...] Whenever schools have managed the transition to a later start time, students get more sleep, attendance goes up, grades improve and there is a significant reduction in car accidents. The RAND Corporation estimated that opening school doors after 8:30 a.m. would contribute at least $83 billion to the national economy within a decade through improved educational outcomes and reduced car crash rates. The Brookings Institution calculates that later school start times would lead to an average increase in lifetime earnings of $17,500.


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @06:39AM (21 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @06:39AM (#739577)

    It does need reworking, but not in the way you think. The age of consent needs to be moved to 25, because that's about when the brain finishes developing. It's too risky to allow sex before that.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @06:56AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @06:56AM (#739579)

    I prefer fresh brains.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:16AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:16AM (#739592)

    You sound like Russian lawmakers, which seem to believe that any problem (perceived or real) can be solved by making it illegal.

    • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:31AM (2 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:31AM (#739595) Journal

      Ummm... really? No shit? You reckon only the Russian ones worth the mention [wikipedia.org]?

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:47AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:47AM (#739599)

        'Tis where I live, which is why I mentioned those.

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:53AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:53AM (#739600) Journal

          Make sense.
          The behavior is not restricted to Russian politicians though.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by c0lo on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:27AM (11 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @08:27AM (#739594) Journal

    Heh. Ages you say? How about adding another one: the economic independence age [forbes.com]?

    If wages don’t pick up through the next decade, Bovino says Millennials would be forced to continue to avoid big purchases like homes and cars and delay starting families. Housing starts would also grow slowly. Altogether, Bovino estimates that a downside scenario could mean the U.S. would miss out on $49 billion a year through 2019.

    Millennials are already forming households at a slower rate than previous generations. The number of 25- to 34-year-olds living in their parents homes jumped 17.5% from 2007 to 2010, whereas in 1960, three-quarters of women and two-thirds of men were financially independent, had married and had children by age 30. Even in 2003, a 30-year-old American was twice as likely to own his or her own home than to live with his or her parents.

    Apropos "big purchases" - here's a nice chart of productivity vs wages '48 to '13 [imgix.net]

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 2, Troll) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:32AM (2 children)

      by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:32AM (#739607) Journal

      It is hard to afford cars and homes when you spend all your money on beard oil.

      --
      Washington DC delenda est.
      • (Score: 5, Touché) by c0lo on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:38AM (1 child)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:38AM (#739610) Journal

        So true. When all your disposable income is the $3 worth of beard oil, there's no way in hell you can afford a car.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 26 2018, @01:54PM

          by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday September 26 2018, @01:54PM (#740175) Journal

          When all your disposable income is the $3 worth of beard oil

          It's artisanal.

          --
          Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 25 2018, @02:55PM (6 children)

      by Gaaark (41) on Tuesday September 25 2018, @02:55PM (#739697) Journal

      So, what changed in the Nixon/Ford era that began this?

      What laws changed?
      What did lobbyists get?

      --
      --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday September 25 2018, @03:32PM (3 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @03:32PM (#739713) Journal

        What did lobbyists get?

        I don't know.
        Maybe they tricked Nixon into thinking "conservative" and "conservationist" are the same so he set up EPA [wikipedia.org]?

        (large grin)

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday September 26 2018, @01:52AM (2 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday September 26 2018, @01:52AM (#740001) Homepage Journal

          They more or less are by definition if not in practice. Conservatives' fundamental characteristic is wanting things to change as little as possible. That includes the environment.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday September 26 2018, @02:41AM (1 child)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 26 2018, @02:41AM (#740013) Journal

            Conservatives' fundamental characteristic is wanting things to change as little as possible.

            Meh, theoretically.

            In real life, this leads to a paradoxes via

            I want my way of doing things to stay the same, don't you tell me how to conduct myself.
            I care less that the effects on my actions do not "conserve" what belongs to others' than I care to change myself.
            It is their responsibility to protect what is theirs; so again, FO and don't tell me what to do.

            Honestly, can you say you don't see this mindset quite common in the "conservatives" of today?

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @07:37PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 25 2018, @07:37PM (#739835)

        Computerization and lessened need for human labor?
        The loss of the Vietnam War and needing to let the US dollar float?
        Opening to mainland China and cheap imports from Asia?
        Exhausted energy sources in the US, and unionization of foreign oil suppliers?

        • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday September 25 2018, @09:07PM

          by Gaaark (41) on Tuesday September 25 2018, @09:07PM (#739874) Journal

          I'd add the destruction of unions in North America as well.

          --
          --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:07PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:07PM (#739893) Journal
      Here's a nice chart of productivity vs total compensation '73 to '12 [heritage.org]. Notice that there is a mild decline in total compensation relative to productivity, but the former still gained three quarters of the productivity gain, roughly +100% productivity over the time span (which I gather was why the end time was chosen) versus 73% in total compensation.

      The real problem isn't that wages are moderately stagnant, but rather that developed world societies are geared towards increasing the cost of living (with the US taking the lead in a number of ways). A common example is high cost of real estate. Notice the use of the words "home", "housing", etc in the quote you inserted? Residential real estate in the US went up a lot more than wages did - it crudely tripled [cnbc.com] over the 1948-2013 period in the US, adjusted for inflation while wages only doubled.
  • (Score: 3, Touché) by c0lo on Tuesday September 25 2018, @09:19AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @09:19AM (#739601) Journal

    It's too risky to allow sex before that.

    Just from curiosity: exactly what is that risk again?

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday September 25 2018, @01:12PM (1 child)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday September 25 2018, @01:12PM (#739655) Homepage Journal

    The brain doesn't need to finish developing to be able to make responsible choices. If that's been your experience, your parents were shitty parents.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:11PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday September 25 2018, @10:11PM (#739896) Journal
      In fact, if you're waiting till the brain finishes development to start making responsible choices, then you're skipping the period over which the human brain would best be able to learn those important lessons.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 29 2018, @03:01PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 29 2018, @03:01PM (#741805)

    I'm surprised this was modded insightful rather than funny.

    It is true that the brain doesn't finish developing until 25, but if you follow this reasoning through, you end up not allowing anyone to make any decisions until they are 25, and how ridiculous is that?