WISDOM OF SLEEP: Dr. Mary Carskadon on our sleep-deprived teenagers

Dr. Mary Carskadon is a well-known American sleep researcher who has made a career of studying pediatric sleep issues. She is a strong advocate for later school start times. She serves in multiple roles, as Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and as the Director of the Sleep and Chronobiology Research Lab at E.P. Bradley Hospital.

“Kids are too sleepy to learn well. They’re too sleepy to be happy. And they’re at great risk for such things as traffic accidents.”

“This can put their circadian rhythm, or biological clock, in conflict with the school bell. … And their fatigue often leads to behavior problems that contribute to a negative overall school performance and experience.”

“It’s a double whammy. They’re not getting enough sleep to recharge their brains, and we’re asking their brains to be on duty at the wrong time.”

~ Dr. Mary Carskadon