Chandigarh, Tuesday, June 15, 1999
Chandigarh, Tuesday, June 15, 1999 |
| Teenagers and delayed sleep phase
syndrome By Meenakshi Mehta ADULTS often rhapsodise about the glories of their bygone teens, seldom, if ever recalling the trauma that it, irrefutably, a second nature to this age of constant metamorphosis, insecurities and pressures, pushing teenagers to extremes. |
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Teenagers and delayed sleep phase syndrome By Meenakshi Mehta ADULTS often rhapsodise about the glories of their bygone teens, seldom, if ever recalling the trauma that it, irrefutably, a second nature to this age of constant metamorphosis, insecurities and pressures, pushing teenagers to extremes. The constant pressure to cope with Titanic academic competition has besides other repercussions, deprived teenagers of the minimum sleep recommended. Apparently the fast lane life-style led by them, not so much out of vogue or choice as out of compulsion can make getting enough sleep a real challenge parents, teachers and the teenagers themselves work endlessly to make time for the things they value and consider imperative for the teenager to be successful. Evidently and unfortunately sleep is not one of these. In fact, there is a myth that teenagers sleep too much, wasting valuable time that could have otherwise been used in learning. And so they log onto learning at the cost of precious sleep. The natural consequence is that we see these teenagers functioning at less than optimum. That powerful innate desire to learn that is obvious in every adolescent can trigger vast gains but how effective is learning with them when they are constantly accumulating sleep debt? Scientific research has revealed that "High stress jobs naturally boost levels of chemicals that stimulate nervous system activity, so we need some down time between the excitement and challenges of our work and when we go to sleep" says Dr Martha Lentz, a research associate professor in the university of Washington, school of Nursing. Even more disconcerting is the fact that "some typical results of chronic sleep deprivation include an increase in inability and a deterioration of the ability to make good decisions about complex information, frame points of views or even use memorised material to solve complex logical problems", psychologists opine. Is that the reason why teenagers get poor grades which in turn account for many serious rejections of education leading them, to confront a continuous sense of frustration? Latest medical research has revealed that "teenagers have a physiological need for extra sleep, particularly in the morning. "If this is so then how justified are schools in waking-up teenagers at the crack of dawn to reach school by 8 a.m.? In fact, the US Congress has looked upon this as totally unwarrantable, so much so that they have recently introduced a Bill urging schools to start classes after 9 a.m. Will starting school late break the impasse? Learning, like eating carries innate needs or desires that drive humans throughout their lives. A rule of nature requires action fulfilling innate desires be pleasurable. Without enjoyment, necessary actions would cease and the species would die out" says Tredrick Bennett, a psychologist. Receiving instructions by a sleep deprived teenager is by no standards pleasurable and only recochets — to say the least — defeating his very purpose of learning. Experts believe that effective learning requires that instruction meet the preparedness of the receiver. When interviewed most parents admitted that they faced considerable difficulty in waking up a teenager who, when after repeated reminders does leave the bed, is only to be found sprawled asleep on the floor available in the next room, even if it means the bathroom. However, the pre-adolescent in contrast, is far easier to handle with his eagerness to wake-up and face the world. According to Dr Lentz "The key for figuring out if you are getting enough sleep is whether you feel rested and ready to take on the world when you wake up in the morning" Needless to say, with their reluctance to wake up in the morning hours, the teenagers are accumulating sleep debt. Sleep marven Dr William Dement suggests that adolescent require nearly nine hours of sleep and may be 10 hours in the case of younger teenagers. A study conducted on teenagers suggests that during the teenage the sleep/wake cycle becomes delayed and, therefore, many teenagers experience delayed sleep phase syndrome. Teenagers are at their best in the evenings being somewhat sluggish in the mornings. Yet another study has suggested that students with poor sleep habits do not do as well academically in schools. This study surveyed sleep habits in high school students in the USA to determine whether in fact this age group was sleep delayed and whether students with higher grade point averages (GPAs) got more sleep than students with lower GPAs. The data collected indicated that "students with higher GPAs sleep more at night and are less sleepy during the day than students with lower GPAs". One interpretation of these results is that students who get more sleep have higher GPAs because of their ability to be alert and pay attention during the class. Globally, it seems to be an accepted and expected teenage behavioural pattern that teenagers go to bed late for reasons such as home work, self-study, hobbies (if they are lucky to find the time for one), television and in a few cases ‘partying. Besides, considering the biological fact that a child’s body clock pattern makes dramatic changes around the time of puberty and throughout adolescence, the teenagers circadian clock wants him to get up late. Not surprising, the teenager who has, after much ado, been shunted out of bed is prone to suffer from lowered attention and high absenteeism when school starts early. Many, perhaps most, teenagers can’t fight this crushing obstacle that confronts them. Almost every entering teenager quickly joins in the malison otherwise he/she would have to oppose the whole cultural and academic flow and to expect him/her to fight entrenched students mores would be nothing but hopeless. The vital question that arises should the authorities concerned bring about a change in the time schools start? Although the reactions gathered from parents and students were mixed, most students felt that schools should start at around 9 a.m. to 9.30 as that is the time they are "ready to learn and receive instructions" most working parents welcomed the idea of schools starting late. They felt in doing so a dual purpose would be served. One, their children would learn to grow better as they would no longer feel entrapped in a cycle that defrauds them of learning and two, it would relieve parents of the anxiety that they are often plagued by the fact that their children are alone, without supervision, during the afternoons — a time when juvenile crime has been registered to scale the highest peak. The other school of thought had parents preferring the existing school timings. They felt that from time immemorial perhaps, from the ‘gurkul’ days, it is the morning hours that are the best for learning. In fact they feel late start of schools would be the breading ground for activities like late night partying. Serious changes never happen easily and are bound to meet opposition. Who is at fault for the academic pressure on teenagers? That is unimportant. How can these pressures be reduced, if not eliminated? That is important. As with so much evidence about the ill-effects of the delayed sleep phase syndrome in teenagers a meaningful alteration must take place. The authorities concerned could consider revamping school timings. It would rid students of having to endure tedious classes and no longer overwhelm the inherent enjoyment of learning. Besides students will have the confidence in academic advancement for no wish for academic advancement can be fostered without the obvious possibility that it can occur. This is not to say that there are not enough committed institutions or individuals who are doing more than their fair share to enhance the educational community. Yet beyond all hype and rhetoric surrounding teenage sleep and sleep debt, there is a solid backdrop of empirical analysis to support the positive nature of schools beginning late. Simply put, adolescents. When given sufficient
sleep and fed to facts when they are most ready to learn
will show better information absorption and even perhaps
better regurgitation and finally achieve quality
learning. |
Although I have scored a decent overall aggregate, I have compartment in one subject in the CBSE exam. Is there no way I can get admission to a college this year? Hoshiar Singh, Bathinda Even if you have fared somewhat poorly, don’t lose heart for all is not lost. Most universities make a provision for candidates with compartment in one subject only. You can get a provisional admission provided you have obtained the aggregate by adding the minimum pass marks of the subject in which you have been placed under compartment to the marks obtained in the remaining three subjects. This is of course subject to the condition that you will pass the compartmental exam by December. Do colleges fix cut-off percentages arbitrarily? Are they kept artificially steep to uphold the "standing" of the institution? Anupam Kaur, Gurdaspur While that may be one of the considerations, it is by no means an arbitrary decision. The cut-off percentage for each list is arrived at by carefully computing the number of applicants and their marks. Attached to this is the university’s stipulation that all students who come within the cut-off percentage and approach the college within the stipulated time, have to be accommodated. In effect, this means that any student with a score higher than the-cut-off percentage announced by the college and applying within the prescribed period has to be admitted by the college irrespective of whether the college has any seats left. Naturally therefore, the college plays it safe by keeping the cut off somewhat high in the initial list. Then, depending on the gap between the demand and supply it can always drop the percentage a couple of notches in the subsequent list. Please help me, I am terribly confused.Should I opt for a prestigious college regardless of what course I get. Is this the right approach? Suresh Sharma,Shimla The very first step is to priorotise the courses you want rather than worry about which college to join. The course of your choice in a college that is not on the top of your list is any day preferable to plodding through an uninteresting or dead-end course in a great college. Most faculty members I’ve spoken to also agree that when facing such a dilemma it’s best to give precedence to the course. Ultimately it’s the course that will determine your career prospects and future options. I am a science student of Class XII.Which are the other career options open to me after 10+2 in science? Namrata Kohli, Chandigarh After completing your 10+2 with science, you can choose to pursue almost any field. Those related to sciences include engineering, architecture, civil aviation, merchant navy, computers, medicine and related courses, agriculture, pure sciences, meteorology, biotechnology, environmental sciences, information technology and many others. You can also pursue just about any other profession open to your arts or commerce counterparts, Just try and narrow down your choice (s) to 1 or 2 options and then concentrate on planning a career around it. I am a commerce graduate.I wish to pursue MCA from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Could you please tell me about the eligibility criteria? Satinder Bhatt, Hisar You can opt for MCA (Master of Computer Applications) at IGNOU if you have done BCA from IGNOU or any other university. Otherwise, graduates from other disciplines need to do a CIC (Certificate in Computing) or DCO (Diploma in Computers in Office Management) from IGNOU itself. This MCA is a six semester course which can be completed in 3-7 years. Those who have not studied Maths at 10+2 level are required to successfully complete the PPC (Preparatory Programming in Computing) during the first/second semester of the MCA programme. Lateral entry: Under this provision those who possess a PGDCA from a recognised university/’A’ Level DoE certificate after graduation and pass the test conducted by the IGNOU can seek direct entry into the second year (3 semester) of MCA. CIC is a 6-month course (extendable to 2 years) for which the eligibility is 10+2. DCO is a 1-year (extendable to 4 years) course for which the eligibility is graduation or 10+2 with 3-year work experience. Admission: Though partner institutions is conducted twice a year in the months of January and June whereas regular admission is done once a year. After working for several years, I have now reached a dead-end in my career and would like to change my line while I’m still young. But how do I find the time to explore the options while still holding a full-time job? Rahat Kattar, Panchkula Engineering a mid-career change calls for a great deal of stock-taking, planning and research. Here are some useful time-saving tips from those who have successfully managed to do just that. 1. Keep at it! Use every spare hour you can find. Press evening, weekends and lunch-breaks into service. The more you explore, the more you’ll learn. The more you learn, the better poised you’ll be to act. 2. Do all your original planning and home-work after office hours. Later, use this time to write thank-you notes, correspond, etc. 3. Put your lunch hour to work to call upon potential prospects, leads etc. If you carry a dry lunch, it will enable you to keep one (not-too-long) appointment. If you do it regularly over a period, you’ll be amazed at how many leads you’ve managed to pursue. 4. Similarly, you could fix meetings straight after work. Many senior managers and businessmen work late. Estimate the time it will take you to go across, and make sure you don’t keep anyone waiting. 5. Use holidays to maximum advantage. If you are in govt service or working in a school or college, you’ll have far more holidays than most business people or organisations. Use them to chat-up people who are actually working in the field and for exploring further leads. 6. Optimise your sick-leave if you have any due for the same purpose. Its better to use it now when you need it most than to encash it at the time of leaving.Similarly, make the most of your vacation — if you are dead-serious about a career change, ‘it’s no great sacrifice. This comes in particularly handy if you need to go outstation.Schedule your appointments so you can squeeze in a spot of vacationing on the side. 7. If you still feel you
need more concentrated time to visit a whole list of
people and places, ask for leave of absence without pay.
No one will deny you a week off for "personal
business" if it is scheduled in advance. |
Probe sought into lapse of grant THE Punjabi Publishers Association has urged the Chief Minister to order a high level probe into the alleged lapse of grants of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation due to non-purchase of Punjabi books as directed by the state government. Mr Gursagar Singh, general secretary of the association, says the grant of Rs 1 crore earmarked by the state was not properly utilised due to the "anti Punjabi" attitude of the departments concerned. He also says despite the tall claims by Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance Minister, that Punjabi books worth Rs 1 crore will be purchased annually for establishing public libraries in rural areas and towns, no step has been taken so far in this direction. He alleges the Amritsar
Municipal Corporation flatly refused to purchase the
books in Punjabi. As a result, the budget earmarked for
the purpose lapsed. |
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