Adolescence: Bronfenbrenner's Biological Approach

The article “ Inside the Teen Brain” by Marty Wolner, states that recent resherchers on the human brain provides parents with shocking evidence abou there teenager that probably explains there irational, ilogical, and impulsive behavior. As it turns out, brain developement during the teenage years is radically more active than previously thought. Even though the brain is almost matured the grey matter in the thinking part of the brain is still making connections. The information proccesed in the limbic system, without benefit of higher level processing in the pre-frontal cortex may result in impulsive, egocentric,, and even risky behavior. Because of the construction of the teenage brain is that its not capable of fully processing information

Sleep is a time of rapid healing or, in many people, a time of rapid growth. Long periods of restful sleep accounts for the release of growth hormone in these teens, and is linked to brain maturation, which aids in the intelligence and overall maturation of an individual, if they are constantly sleep deprived, this process is severely hindered. To add insult to injury, memory consolidation, long-term memory, and its retrieval are all affected by sleep restriction, as a result, less sleep equates to a reduced level of academic

Three sources are used to support the crucial assertion that teenagers do not get as much sleep as needed to properly function, with an additional three citations to show that this problem worsens throughout high school. Several more sources are referenced to clarify that early school increases student sleepiness, and that drowsy driving is dangerous. With that first paragraph covered, most any reader would be willing to believe extensive research has been done throughout the article and all provided information is accurate. This trend is continued to the second paragraph with another five reputable

It is important for teenagers to get eight to nine hours of sleep at night to not only succeed in daily tasks but in school as well. Many high school students are not doing as well

Did you know that not enough sleep for teens can lead to poor organization, poor time-management skills, and can make them impulsive? People are debating about how teens need more sleep. Not enough sleep isn’t healthy. Even though people are concerned about their children’s sleep, schools can’t always start as late as we want. If schools start later, this can affect after school activities such as clubs and sports.

Instead of stages like Erikson, Bronfenbrenner had systems to show how connected and influenced the child is to their environment. He believed that children are not only affected by their immediate surroundings, but are affected by culture and the government too. The first system is the microsystem, this is the most immediate connection to the child. This system includes the parents, teachers, and friends of the child. The next system is the Mesosystem.

“The CDC’s recommendations come a year after the American Academy of Pediatrics urged schools to adjust start times so more kids would get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of nightly rest. Both the CDC and the pediatricians’ group cited significant risks that come with lack of sleep, including higher rates of obesity and depression and motor-vehicle accidents among teens as well as an overall lower quality of life” (Richmond). Consequently this causes emotional instability as well as other sleep related facts due to teens not being able to get enough sleep. “According to most sleep experts, most adolescents need about 9 hours of sleep per night. Today nearly 2/3 get under 8, and 2/5 get under 6 hours of sleep per night” (School Start Later.

Not getting enough sleep is not only unhealthy, it dangerous. In the article “Sleep to Succeed” it shows how any teens really do need sleep. They wouldn’t be able to function without it. If we don’t, we won’t be able to be social or have good grades. In this article it also states “Sleep deprivation is a serious issue for many teens.

Waking up early affects teenagers’ social life, mentality, physical being, and academic career. A study has proven that lack of sleep will affect a teenagers’ life in a negative way, “Overtime, not obtaining enough sleep can hurt student’s healthy, safety, social life, and school career.” (National Sleep foundation 1) Due to teenagers naturally not being able to fall asleep till later in the night and forcing students to wake up severely early in the morning for school, they are exhausted. A recent study shows that students are tired throughout their school day, 60% of children under 18 say that they are tired throughout the day (National Sleep Foundation 1)

70 percent of teens aren't getting enough sleep. Activities also can interfere with a students sleep. Including any activity you choose to do, it may be sports, gymnastics, dance of maybe even after school club but if they end later that's a problem.

First off, in a study conducted by The Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that teens in schools that started at 8:30 or later had a 20% decrees in depression or depressing thought. Students that are sleep deprived have poor communications and have decreased consecration. It is impossible for them to get the most out of school. Even worse, students were less likely to use addictive drugs and abuse alcohol when they have less sleep. This created massive mental and physical problems for the students affected.

A report by Newsweek says that “Perpetual lack of sleep is tied to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression and a shortened life span in adults, underscoring the importance of establishing good sleep habits early in life”(1). We may be fine without sufficient sleep now, but health consequences will show later in life. Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are already big problems in America. An article by CNN says that “Adolescents that go to sleep at midnight or later are also more likely to suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts” (1). The mental health of students at Clarke should not be overlooked.

The National Sleep Foundation research indicates that “Sleep deprivations impacts include: weight gain, eating disorders, increased risk of diabetes, reduced immunity, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, mood swings, behavior problems, suicidal ideation, and potential impacts on brain development, (Rubinstein 2). As early school start times continue so does the risk of many health problems for high schoolers. As you can see, according to many trusted resources health of high schoolers is at risk because they don’t get enough

Did you know that roughly half of your life will be spent sleeping? Without sleep, you can not think clearly, are unable to physically do things at peak efficiency. Teenagers can find it harder to get to bed, and harder to get up in the morning, because of the changing of their internal sleep clocks. What is worse is that school, homework,and other extra curricular activities can interfere with the sleep cycle. It has been suggested that high school classes start later and end later.

“Research has shown over and over that teenagers do better and feel better in schools that start later.” -Ingvi Hrannar Omarsson. Is sleep important for teenagers? Does more sleep help with concentration or health? Is sleep good for the average student who manages extra-curricular activities and loads of homework every night?