9781422273890

Understanding Sleep

If you are a teenager, you’re probably tired. Study after study has shown that the vast majority of teens are not getting the amount of sleep they need. Many teens don’t actually know how much sleep that is. You may be surprised to learn that the average teenager needs more sleep than adults, not less. This chapter will explain what is going on in your body while you sleep, why that is so important, and the problems associated with being poorly rested. The Rhythm of a Day The word circadian is a combination of two Latin words: circa , meaning “about,” and dies , meaning “day.” Although its roots are old, circadian itself is not an old term; it was invented by a scientist in 1959 to describe a period of approximately twenty-four hours in the life of an organism. All organisms—everything from humans and animals to plants and bacteria—have internal “clocks” or schedules

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