February 2002

Welcome to the Alite newsletter, February 2002

We decided it was time to focus on the importance of sleep, so this month's newsletter is a 'sleep special'! We don't think it will send you to sleep (although we do have some useful suggestions if you suffer from insomnia!) but it will give you some fascinating insights into why adequate sleep is so important for the learner.

Sleepy teenagers

Sometime in late puberty, the body secretes the sleep-related hormone melatonin at a different time than it normally does. This changes the circadian rhythms that guide a person's sleep-wake cycle. For instance, if you told your teenager to go to bed at 10 p.m., she may end up staring at the ceiling until 1 or 2 a.m. waiting to fall asleep. At about 7:30 p.m. a teen feels wide awake and fully alert, unlike an adult who is starting to "wind down" and feel sleepier as the evening progresses so that at 10 p.m. the adult is ready to go to bed. The teenager's "wind down" time takes place much later.

Studies show that the changes taking place in their bodies require more sleep and they may be physically challenged by getting up early in the morning. Their internal biological clock may slow down in adolescence. That can account for their not being sleepy until 2 a.m.

To think that their child, who once awoke at the crack of dawn and was eager to watch cartoons even on Saturday mornings has now by choice, turned into a lazy, sleepy, young adult who wouldn't wake up in the morning if a bomb went off in the next room, can make some parents think their youngster is trying to undermine their authority in some way.

How Much Sleep?

Adolescents are technically described as 'young persons in the age range 11 to 22'. They need 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. They rarely get that much due to early school start time, inability to fall asleep until late at night, work, social life and homework. Parents may need to adjust their child's schedule to allow more sleep. Most teens are chronically sleep deprived and try to "catch up" on their sleep by sleeping in on the weekends.

For the record, younger school-age children need at least 10 hours sleep and adults need 8 ¼ hours.

How Does Sleep Deprivation Affect the Teenager?

Sleep deprivation can impair memory and inhibit creativity making it difficult for sleep deprived students to learn. Teens struggle to learn to deal with stress and control emotion - sleep deprivation makes it even more difficult. Irritability, lack of self confidence and mood swings are often common in a teen, but sleep deprivation makes it worse. Depression can result from chronic sleep deprivation. Not enough sleep can endanger their immune system and make them more susceptible to serious illnesses.

Here are a few special sleep tips for teenagers:

• Stay away from caffeine and nicotine which are both stimulants after noon. Also avoid alcohol which can disrupt sleep.
• Avoid heavy studying or computer games before bed, they can be arousing.
• Avoid arguing with your adolescent just before bedtime.
• Avoid trying to sleep with a computer or TV flickering in the room.
• Avoid bright light in the evening, but open blinds or turn on lights as soon as the morning alarm goes off to aid awakening.
• Let them sleep in on the weekend, but no more than 2 or 3 hours later than their usual awakening time or it will disrupt their body clock.

Sleepy stuff

Anyone who has had a baby knows that sleep deprivation is the oldest and cheapest form of torture. Missing out on sleep too often is dangerous. Not only does this lead to impairment and death of hippocampal cells, but also to injury and death from accidents caused by sleepy drivers and machine operators. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found that cheating on sleep for only a few nights increased brain levels of cortisol. Inadequate sleep also deprived the brain of the time it needs to re-establish its energy. In one survey it was suggested that about two-thirds of the population fail to get enough sleep.

With very young children lack of sufficient uninterrupted sleep causes behaviour problems. A study of 500 children, under five years of age, found that those who slept less than 10 hours a day, including naps, were 25% more likely to misbehave. They would throw temper tantrums, act aggressively to others, be more vocal in their attention seeking and more demanding of adult attention. Children who slept 12 or more hours a day were much less likely to behave in this way.

Alite 2002

A date for your diary! The Alite Motivation and Learning Conference, Alite 2002 will take place on 21 June 2002 at the Café Royal, London. This is a challenging, interactive 1 day programme designed to bring to life the theory of motivation. The day will be headed up by Alistair Smith, and will be packed with practical tools and techniques for keeping students motivated. Delegates are sure to leave the Conference feeling highly motivated themselves!

To receive a booking form for the Conference, please email Kim Pemberton at kim@alite.co.uk, or click here

Alite for Literacy

Do you want proven ways to build on and improve your literacy strategy?
What about more imaginative ways to engage boys in reading?
Could you benefit from creative questioning techniques in plenary sessions?

Alite for Literacy is a new course offering imaginative and exciting ways to improve literacy through Accelerated Learning, while still meeting the requirements of the NLS.

This is a fast-paced, fun and interactive one-day programme, designed to give participants fresh ideas for improving literacy through Accelerated Learning, while still meeting the requirements of the NLS.

Alite for Literacy may be booked as an INSET for 20 - 60 delegates from a single school or a cluster. It will also take place as an open course specifically for primary schools on 18 April at the Holiday Inn Victoria, London. To make a booking, please contact the Alite office on 01628 810700, or click here

Cliff Hopwood in Texas

Alite consultant Cliff Hopwood recently attended the IAL conference in Houston, Texas, and sent this message:

Surf the net and search for AL websites. You could be either daunted or impressed by the tens of thousands of references from which to choose. It is obvious that interest in the subject spans the globe. At a recent AL Conference in Houston, Texas this was confirmed. The 350 delegates came from virtually every continent. The events of September 11 had greatly reduced the numbers attending. Usually the figure is 500+. They had a wide variety of backgrounds but one thing in common - the desire to find out more about AL and disseminate examples of good practice they encountered. The conference itself comprised several days of workshops and seminars. Some presenters had travelled across Houston while others had come half way across the world.

The overriding impression I gained is that the use of AL is burgeoning and that it can cross cultures and languages in a very powerful manner. One of the main tenets of AL is that it is about the spirit of learning and that every student has a worthwhile contribution to make. Experienced AL practitioners believe this method to be a process which can empower the learner to make more of themselves whilst allowing teachers to be creative and energised - even within the constraints and demands of the National Curriculum!

My research revealed that teachers round the world speak passionately about the success this approach has produced, and it seems to be effective in all ages from 2 to 102. Although I have heard persuasive arguments to extend its use way before and beyond these years! It is also being used successfully in all settings, wherever learning takes place, not just in schools.

It is reassuring to know that Alite is at the forefront of delivering this message. By constantly updating skills and knowledge Alite consultants are able to bring the latest brain-based learning techniques to classrooms across the country. We've learned more about the brain in the last ten years than in the rest of recorded history. We owe it to ourselves and our students to apply this knowledge now. Those of us who have applied this approach are aware of the benefits - it has an immediate impact and leaves a long term impression on pupil and teacher alike.

And finally, 10 Great excuses when caught drifting off in the staff meeting

1. Come in at 6 in the morning and look what happens!
2. You don't discriminate against those with Latent Atrophy Zymosis Yeast syndrome, DO YOU?
3. They told me at the blood donors this might happen.
4. This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last management course I went on.
5. I was just meditating on the mission statement and visualising a new paradigm.
6. I was testing my clipboard for drool resistance
7. 'your voice has a hypnotic quality…'
8. I was working smarter - not harder.
9. Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic!
10. '...and I especially thank you for my excellent headteacher, Amen.'