It's six o'clock in the morning, pitch black outside. My 14-year-old son is fast asleep in his bed, sleeping the reckless, deep sleep of a teenager. I flip on the light and physically shake the poor boy awake, because I know that, like ripping off a Band-Aid, it's better to get it over with quickly.
早上六點鐘, 外面仍然一片漆黑。 我十四歲的兒子在床上熟睡著, 這個十幾歲的小子睡得又深又沉。 我打開燈,將這個可憐的男孩搖醒, 因為我知道「長痛不如短痛」, 最好的方式是趕快讓他醒來。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
I have a friend who yells "Fire!" just to rouse her sleeping teen. And another who got so fed up that she had to dump cold water on her son's head just to get him out of bed. Sound brutal ... but perhaps familiar?
我有一個朋友會大喊「開火!」 只是為了叫醒她的孩子。 我的另一朋友更是無奈, 因為她必須把冷水倒在 她兒子的頭上, 只是為了讓他離開床鋪。 聽起來很殘酷...... 但也許覺得有點熟悉?
Every morning I ask myself, "How can I -- knowing what I know and doing what I do for a living -- be doing this to my own son?" You see, I'm a sleep researcher.
每天早晨我問自己: 「明明我知道各種睡眠的知識, 而且我賴以為生的工作 就是與睡眠有關, 但是我怎麼能這樣 對待自己的兒子?」 你明白了吧, 我是一位睡眠的研究者。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So I know far too much about sleep and the consequences of sleep loss. I know that I'm depriving my son of the sleep he desperately needs as a rapidly growing teenager. I also know that by waking him up hours before his natural biological clock tells him he's ready, I'm literally robbing him of his dreams -- the type of sleep most associated with learning, memory consolidation and emotional processing.
所以我很清楚睡眠的重要性, 以及睡眠不足所導致的後果。 我知道我正在剝奪 我兒子所需要的睡眠, 那對於正處於快速成長階段的 青少年來說,是非常需要的。 我也知道,我在他生理時鐘的自然醒 數小時前將我兒子叫醒, 我正在剝奪了他的美夢── 而這種睡眠型態與學習、記憶固化 和情感處理是息息相關的。
But it's not just my kid that's being deprived of sleep. Sleep deprivation among American teenagers is an epidemic. Only about one in 10 gets the eight to 10 hours of sleep per night recommended by sleep scientists and pediatricians. Now, if you're thinking to yourself, "Phew, we're doing good, my kid's getting eight hours," remember, eight hours is the minimum recommendation. You're barely passing. Eight hours is kind of like getting a C on your report card.
但是,不只是我的孩子 被剝奪了睡眠。 在美國的青少年之中, 睡眠不足是普遍流行的現象。 只有約 1/10 的青少年, 每天晚上的睡眠時間 能夠達到睡眠科學家和小兒科醫生 所建議的 8 至 10 個小時, 現在,如果你回想自己的情況, 「唷,我們家還不錯, 我的孩子有睡到 8 個小時。」 要記得, 八個小時是建議的最低標準。 你只是剛好及格而已。 「每晚睡八個小時」就像是 在成績單上得到 C 而已。
There are many factors contributing to this epidemic, but a major factor preventing teens from getting the sleep they need is actually a matter of public policy. Not hormones, social lives or Snapchat. Across the country, many schools are starting around 7:30am or earlier, despite the fact that major medical organizations recommend that middle and high school start no earlier than 8:30am. These early start policies have a direct effect on how much -- or really how little sleep American teenagers are getting.
有許多原因使得 睡眠不足的情況普遍蔓延, 但是讓青少年得不到需要的睡眠, 實際上的主因是公共政策。 而不是因為孩子們的 荷爾蒙、社交生活, 或是照片分享軟體 Snapchat 所造成的。 在全國各地, 許多學校都規定 早上七點半左右到校, 有的甚至更早; 儘管各大醫療機構都提出建議, 國高中不應該在 早上八點半之前上課。 過早到校上課的規定, 直接影響到美國的青少年, 讓他們的睡眠時間愈來愈少。
They're also pitting teenagers and their parents in a fundamentally unwinnable fight against their own bodies. Around the time of puberty, teenagers experience a delay in their biological clock, which determines when we feel most awake and when we feel most sleepy. This is driven in part by a shift in the release of the hormone melatonin. Teenagers' bodies wait to start releasing melatonin until around 11pm, which is two hours later than what we see in adults or younger children. This means that waking a teenager up at 6am is the biological equivalent of waking an adult up at 4am. On the unfortunate days when I have to wake up at 4am, I'm a zombie. Functionally useless. I can't think straight, I'm irritable, and I probably shouldn't be driving a car. But this is how many American teenagers feel every single school day. In fact, many of the, shall we say, unpleasant characteristics that we chalk up to being a teenager -- moodiness, irritability, laziness, depression -- could be a product of chronic sleep deprivation. For many teens battling chronic sleep loss, their go-to strategy to compensate is consuming large quantities of caffeine in the form of venti frappuccinos, or energy drinks and shots. So essentially, we've got an entire population of tired but wired youth.
這些規定也使得 青少年和他們的父母, 一直在這場贏不了的戰爭當中, 與自己的身體健康對抗。 在青春期的時候, 青少年的生理時鐘會被延緩, 而這決定了我們何時感覺到清醒, 以及何時感覺到疲倦。 而這是由於釋放 褪黑激素的時間差所造成的。 青少年的體內 會等到晚上 11 點左右 才開始釋放褪黑激素, 這比我們一般大人或小孩 晚了 2 個小時。 這意味著早上六點醒來的青少年, 他的生理狀況相當於 凌晨四點醒來的成年人。 在某些悲慘的日子裡, 我必須在凌晨四點起床, 那時我就像是個殭屍。 一無是處。 我的思緒混亂, 情緒煩躁, 或許我連車都開不好。 然而,這是許多美國青少年 每天上學時的感受。 事實上我們可以說, 青少年有許多令人討厭的特質: 例如情緒化、焦躁、懶惰、憂鬱── 這些都是長期睡眠不足所造成的。 對許多青少年來說, 要對抗長期性的睡眠不足, 他們的補償方式 是藉由超大杯星冰樂 或是能量飲料, 來攝取大量的咖啡因。 所以基本上, 我們讓所有的青少年 變得疲憊而且焦躁不安。
Advocates of sleep-friendly start times know that adolescence is a period of dramatic brain development, particularly in the parts of the brain that are responsible for those higher order thinking processes, including reasoning, problem-solving and good judgment. In other words, the very type of brain activity that's responsible for reining in those impulsive and often risky behaviors that are so characteristic of adolescence and that are so terrifying to us parents of teenagers. They know that like the rest of us, when teenagers don't get the sleep they need, their brains, their bodies and behaviors suffer with both immediate and lasting effects. They can't concentrate, their attention plummets and many will even show behavioral signs that mimic ADHD.
主張友善睡眠與延後上課的 倡導者瞭解到, 青春期正是大腦劇烈發展的時期, 特別是大腦結構當中, 負責處理高層次思考的區域, 會進行推理,問題解決 和良好的判斷。 換句話說,這種 特殊型態的大腦活動, 負責管控各種青春期所特有的 衝動與危險行為, 而這也是我們這些 青少年的父母所擔心的。 他們知道,就像我們其他人一樣, 當青少年缺乏所需要的充足睡眠時, 他們的大腦、身體和行為表現 都會受到立即、持續的影響。 他們無法集中精神, 他們的注意力下降, 許多人甚至會出現 類似過動症的行為。
But the consequences of teen sleep loss go well beyond the classroom, sadly contributing to many of the mental health problems that skyrocket during adolescence, including substance use, depression and suicide. In our work with teens from LA Unified School District, we found that teens with sleep problems were 55 percent more likely to have used alcohol in the past month. In another study with over 30,000 high school students, they found that for each hour of lost sleep, there was a 38 percent increase in feeling sad or hopeless, and a 58 percent increase in teen suicide attempts. And if that's not enough, teens who skip out on sleep are at increased risk for a host of physical health problems that plague our country, including obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Then there's the risk of putting a sleep-deprived teen, with a newly minted driver's license, behind the wheel. Studies have shown that getting five hours or less of sleep per night is the equivalent of driving with a blood alcohol content above the legal limit.
但是,青少年睡眠不足的後遺症 不只發生在課堂學習, 更遺憾的是導致了在青春期 出現了許多精神健康問題, 包括物質濫用、 憂鬱症和自殺等問題。 在一項對於洛杉磯聯合學區 青少年所進行的研究, 我們發現有睡眠問題的青少年當中, 有超過 55% 的人 在過去一個月曾經酗酒。 另外一項針對三萬多名 高中生的研究發現, 每減少一小時睡眠時間, 青少年的沮喪或無助感 會增加 38%, 自殺的傾向也增加了 58% 。 影響還不止這些, 忽視睡眠的青少年, 會有更高的機率罹患各種疾病, 包括肥胖、心臟病和糖尿病。 然後,對於一個睡眠不足的青少年, 當他剛剛考取駕照,駕駛著汽車時, 還會出現另一種風險。 研究顯示,每晚的睡眠時間 不到五個小時, 就相當於血液中的酒精含量 超過法定標準的酒駕行為。
Advocates of sleep-friendly start times, and researchers in this area, have produced tremendous science showing the tremendous benefits of later start times. The findings are unequivocal, and as a sleep scientist, I rarely get to speak with that kind of certainty. Teens from districts with later start times get more sleep. To the naysayers who may think that if schools start later, teens will just stay up later, the truth is, their bedtimes stay the same, but their wake-up times get extended, resulting in more sleep. They're more likely to show up for school; school absences dropped by 25 percent in one district. And they're less likely to drop out. Not surprisingly, they do better academically.
主張友善睡眠、 延後上學時間的倡導者, 以及這個領域的研究人員, 已經產出大量的科學證據, 顯示延後上課時間具有巨大效益。 這些發現是很明確的, 身為一位睡眠科學家, 我很少說出如此肯定的結論。 實施延後上課的地區, 青少年能得到更多的睡眠時間。 持反對意見者可能認為, 如果學校延後上課時間, 青少年也會較晚入睡; 事實上, 他們入睡的時間並未改變, 但是因為起床的時間延後了, 所以睡眠更為充足。 他們更願意到學校上課, 其中一個地區的學校 曠課率下降了 25% 。 因此學生更不會放棄課業。 不出所料的, 他們的課業表現也更好。
So this has real implications for reducing the achievement gap. Standardized test scores in math and reading go up by two to three percentage points. That's as powerful as reducing class sizes by one-third fewer students, or replacing a so-so teacher in the classroom with a truly outstanding one. Their mental and physical health improves, and even their families are happier. I mean, who wouldn't enjoy a little more pleasantness from our teens, and a little less crankiness? Even their communities are safer because car crash rates go down -- a 70 percent reduction in one district.
所以這也對於減少成績落差 帶來實際的效益。 在數學和閱讀的標準化測驗中, 成績也提升了兩到三個百分點。 效果相當於將班級學生人數 減少三分之一, 或是以一位非常傑出的教師 取代原本教室裡的普通老師。 當學生的身心健康得到改善, 甚至他們的家庭也會更加快樂。 我的意思是,有誰不喜歡 讓我們的孩子擁有多一些快樂, 以及少一些任性、焦躁呢? 甚至,他們的社區變得更加安全, 因為車禍肇事率下降了—— 其中一個地區甚至減少了 70% 。
Given these tremendous benefits, you might think, well, this is a no-brainer, right? So why have we as a society failed to heed this call? Often the argument against later start times goes something like this: "Why should we delay start times for teenagers? We need to toughen them up so they're ready for the real world!" But that's like saying to the parent of a two-year-old, "Don't let Johnny nap, or he won't be ready for kindergarten."
看到這麼多明顯的效益, 您可能會認為, 這是個顯而易見的好主意,對吧? 那為什麼我們的社會 卻不響應這個提議呢? 反對延後上課時間的論點 通常是這樣的: 「為什麼要延後青少年的上課時間? 我們需要的是鍛鍊他們, 讓他們適應這個現實世界!」 但是這種說法,就像是對著 一位兩歲幼兒的父母說: 「不要讓強尼睡午覺, 否則他會無法適應幼兒園生活。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Delaying start times also presents many logistical challenges. Not just for students and their families, but for communities as a whole. Updating bus routes, increased transportation costs, impact on sports, care before or after school. These are the same concerns that come up in district after district, time and again around the country as school start times are debated. And they're legitimate concerns, but these are problems we have to work through. They are not valid excuses for failing to do the right thing for our children, which is to start middle and high schools no earlier than 8:30am. And in districts around the country, big and small, who have made this change, they found that these fears are often unfounded and far outweighed by the tremendous benefits for student health and performance, and our collective public safety.
延後上課時間,也面臨許多 日常營運上的挑戰。 不僅僅是對於學生和他們的家庭, 而是包含整個社區。 需要更改公車路線, 增加各種交通成本, 影響課前與課後的 運動時間與照顧服務。 當延後上課時間引發爭論時, 這些問題也會在愈來愈多的學區, 甚至是全國各地一再出現。 這些關切是合理的, 但也都是我們必須克服的問題。 它們並不能成為失敗的藉口, 去阻止我們為孩子作出正確的決定, 也就是將國、高中延後到 早上八點半開始上課。 而在全國大大小小的學區當中, 當他們願意做出改變時, 他們會發現這些恐懼往往毫無根據, 取而代之的是巨大的效益, 例如學生的健康、 學業表現, 以及整體的公共安全。
So tomorrow morning, when coincidentally we get to set our clocks back by an hour and you get that delicious extra hour of sleep, and the day seems a little longer, and a little more full of hope, think about the tremendous power of sleep. And think about what a gift it would be for our children to be able to wake up naturally, in harmony with their own biology.
所以在明天早上, 我們不約而同的把鬧鈴時間 往後調一個小時, 你會多得到一個小時甜美的睡眠, 讓你感覺到這一天似乎更長了, 並且充滿了更多的希望。 想像一下睡眠帶來的巨大效益, 也想像一下,如果我們的孩子 能夠睡到自然醒, 與他們自己的生理時鐘一致, 這將會是多麼珍貴的禮物。
Thank you, and pleasant dreams.
謝謝, 祝大家有個愉快的好夢。