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Track your sleep with sleepbot - it helps know how you sleep but also will wake you during your lightest sleep. For iOS and Google.

"A new study conducted among more than 177,000 students suggests that insufficient sleep duration is associated with an unhealthy lifestyle profile among children and adolescents. Results show that insufficient sleep duration was associated with unhealthy dietary habits such as skipping breakfast (adjusted odds ratio 1.30), fast-food consumption (OR 1.35) and consuming sweets regularly (OR 1.32). Insufficient sleep duration also was associated with increased screen time (OR 1.26) and being overweight/obese (OR 1.21). "Approximately 40 percent of schoolchildren in the study slept less than recommended," said senior author Labros Sidossis, PhD, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Health at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. "Insufficient sleeping levels were associated with poor dietary habits, increased screen time and obesity in both genders.""

Please tell parents that even losing an hour of sleep will impair their children. "The performance gap caused by an hour's difference in sleep was bigger than the normal gap between a fourth-grader and a sixth-grader. Which is another way of saying that a slightly sleepy sixth-grader will perform in class like a mere fourth-grader. "A loss of one hour of sleep is equivalent to [the loss of] two years of cognitive maturation and development," Sadeh explains."

Contrary to popular belief, teenagers do not need less sleep than others. In fact, as they move through their teenage years, adolescents need increasing amounts of sleep - about nine hours nightly, as compared to eight hours needed by adults. Excessive sleepiness in teenagers and young adults is related to physiological changes during puberty. Yet, school starting times get earlier and earlier as students mature, despite the fact that puberty demands more sleep. This may have serious physical, mental, and social consequences for adolescents and negatively impact their academic performance.

"A later school start time could mean teens are more likely to get adequate amounts of sleep, according to Penn State researchers. In a national study of urban teenagers, researchers found that high school start times after 8:30 a.m. increased the likelihood that teens obtained the minimum recommended amount of sleep, benefiting their overall health and well being."

"A collaborative research project involving James Cook University and the University of Queensland indicates high rates of sleep problems continuing through teenage years and into early adulthood - but also suggests a natural remedy."

Scientists are continuing to advocate that work and school start later. Researcher Paul Kelley CLAIMS that test scores and work productivity should start at 10am. Of course, what he doesn't account for that this would push sports to later in the day and kids would go to bed even later than they do already. You can only cram so much into a day. Anyway, it is interesting reading. One of the most important things is emphasizing and encouraging to parents that kids get enough sleep.

Researchers found sleep appears to have a dramatic impact on the way the brain functions the next day. It appears to strengthen connections between nerve cells in the brain - a process key to both learning and memory.

A fun logic game where players must use animals to push a sleeping elephant. Probably not quite so much fun for the elephant. Play full screen at http://static.mathplayground.com/logicgames/snoring_sitelock.swf http://ictmagic.wikispaces.com/Educational+Games

The heavy focus on measuring teacher quality can give the false impression that teacher quality is everything. Study after study, however, has shown that poverty is a stronger factor than teacher quality in predicting achievement. The best teachers in the world will have limited impact when children are undernourished, have high levels of lead in their bodies, live in noisy and dangerous environments, get too little sleep, and have no access to reading material.

Information about paying people to pass ap tests.

Paying kids to pass the AP test isn't working... but those supporting it say give it time. In some ways, money is the easy answer. But money doesn't solve problems when you have a child who has low self esteem. A child who is beaten every night isn't going to want to learn more during the day for a one time incentive... they feel trapped. Although the average improved (there were more "5's") - the overall pass rate declined slightly -- but more tests were taken. I am glad that people are willing to put money into trying new things, but sometimes I think teachers are left out of the equation. If we look at brain rules, improving the family life of kids and making sure they get more sleep are two of the most beneficial things we could to improve test scores.

Cell phones and what the japanese government is doing about it.

Japanese government becoming "involved" in the overuse of cell phones by japanese teenagers. This program emphasizes cell phone addiction. 1/3 of japanese 6th graders and cell phones and 2/3rds of 9th graders have them. Interestingly, one panel wants to take texting off the phones? How about using texting iN school? How about letting them define words on it instead of using a dictionary? How about letting them use it in the classroom? Seems kind of like damming up the Mississippi - it may work for a while, but eventually, the dam is going to break. Yes, this is something to talk about and discuss... internet and cell phone addiction is a real issue with many kids I talk to reporting that they literally sleep with it under their pillow. However, just getting rid of texting, I don't think that is a good idea. As with anything in human history, every tool may be used for good or bad.

If you use Linux because it is worry free as related to viruses - don't be caught sleeping - an infected set of Linux botnets are distributing malware, experts have discovered.

Make sure girls don't put their cell phone in their bra (not kidding) and there are many concerns about wifi for kids. We need to consider and review this information -- although there are no long term studies of wifi and kids and nothing linking wifi - there are concerns particularly with RF/EMF exposure. Sleeping with your cell phone or other wireless device is definitely a bad idea. (Hat Tip Diane Ravitch)

"You are obsessed with stories. I am obsessed with stories. We are obsessed with stories. Even when you go to sleep at night, your mind stays awake telling itself stories in your dreams.  It's predicted that modern humans began to speak language around 100,000 years ago. It's no great leap of the imagination to assume they started telling stories not long after.  We're obsessed with stories. But why? It's how we make sense of the world. We have a deep neurological compulsion to find patterns. "

Students do better when they have a clock more aligned with their own body clock. Actually most kids may actually test better in the afternoons! Interesting study.