Unit 1 Taking Charge of Your Health and Wellness Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 76 H ave you ever spent an hour or more trying and failing to fall asleep? Have you had nightmares or experienced sleepwalking? Remember the example from Lesson 3.1. Sanjay stays up late watching TV at night and has a hard time falling asleep, which is causing him not to get enough sleep. His sleep deficit is causing him to get sick more often and to struggle to pay attention and work hard in class and at football practice. Common sleep problems such as these may cause you to lose sleep, but they are usually not serious. Long-term sleep disorders, however, can cause problems at school and in your life. Most importantly, sleep disorders have health consequences. Fortunately, most sleep disorders can be treated once the person recognizes the problem and seeks help. In this lesson, you will learn about some common sleep disorders, as well as available treatments. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome A common sleep disorder that affects a person’s sleep-wake cycle is delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS), also called “night owl” syndrome. DSPS is a disorder that results in a person being unable to fall asleep until very late at night and naturally not waking up until much later in the morning. CASE STUDY CASE STUDY Time to Wake Up, Beckett! Beckett lies in his bed, unable to fall asleep. He keeps rolling over to check the time—10:30 p.m., 11 p.m., 11:30 p.m., 12 a.m., 12:30 a.m. Beckett is starting to worry because he isn’t falling asleep and he knows that he needs to get up early in the morning to catch his school bus. Beckett’s alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m., but he hits the snooze button. He knows he has to wake up, but he can’t keep his eyes open. He just feels so tired. Maybe if he gets five more minutes of sleep. The next thing Beckett hears is his dad yelling from the kitchen for him to get up. Oh man, that must mean it’s after 7 a.m. His dad gets so angry every time he has to wake up Beckett on school days. Beckett realizes his dad just thinks he is being lazy or is sleeping in on purpose or something. He is running late now and will not have time to eat breakfast. Beckett barely has time to get dressed and brush his teeth before the bus arrives. The extra 30 minutes of sleep Beckett got this morning does not seem to help at all. He still falls asleep during Math, which is his first subject of the day. Beckett’s teacher gently shakes him awake and Beckett can tell that his teacher is annoyed. Mad at himself, Beckett promises himself that tonight he will go to sleep at 10:00 p.m. No matter what! Thinking Critically 1. Consider what you know about sleep among adolescents. Is Beckett’s experience common? Why or why not? 2. What sleep disorder may explain Beckett’s inability to fall asleep and wake up early? 3. If this happens to Beckett again, what strategies could help him fall asleep? 4. What could Beckett adjust in his life to prevent this from happening again? Arieliona/Shutterstock.com Arieliona/Shutterstock.com
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