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

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."

~ Mary Carskadon