Sleep study a dream story for high school papers

September 29, 2011  
Filed under Hot off the Presses

A new study on sleep deprivation is big news for high school students and a big story opportunity for high school journalists.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that nearly 70 percent of high schoolers don’t get enough shuteye on school nights. And when they don’t, they’re more likely than their well-rested counterparts to drink and smoke, be couch potatoes, frequently drink soda and even contemplate suicide.

The online news site California Watch quotes a CDC scientist who says that sleep is no luxury and that parents should understand that sleeping and laziness aren’t equivalent.

So what’s the situation at your school? Is lack a sleep a factor in the classroom? Do students nod off because they didn’t get enough zzzzz’s, not because the lecture was a bore? With a few interviews, you could have great local angles to this important and interesting story.

See the California Watch story here and the study here.

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