Teachers often report that they are seeing yawning and tired looking eyes , and are concerned that their students are not getting enough sleep. They say that January, February, and March are optimal times for learning. So, I’d like to remind everyone to get a good night’s sleep. Most children between the ages of 5 and 12 need at least 8-10 hours every night.
There are several theories regarding why we need sleep. One is that sleep allows us to conserve and replenish neurotransmitters such as nor epinephrine and serotonin, which are important to alertness when we are awake. Another developmental theory suggests that the brain practices future behavior during sleep by activating certain neurons and circuits before actually using them. A maintenance theory proposes that after development and learning, sleep allows time for the brain to organize and store this information so it won ‘t be forgotten. Learning theories state that although we do not learn anything new while asleep (playing a Spanish tape will not result in fluency in Espanol), sleep does reinforce memory. In addition, sleep also allows us to forget some of the thousands of experiences we have had during the day to unclutter our minds, yet store those events that are important.
So you can see that when we go to sleep- our brain shifts into gear for some very important work. Let’s give it plenty of time to get its job done!
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