SCHOOL students are chronically sleep deprived, leaving them grumpy and disadvantaged at school the next day — and the culprit is the mobile phone.
Many lose precious sleep because they stay up late into the night sending text messages to friends, education expert and clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller said. Mr Fuller, who is conducting school-based research on the sleeping habits of students, found sleep was most elusive for female students because they were typically the most eager SMS users.
In a sample survey of 213 boys and 193 girls late last year, 42 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls were found to be chronically sleep deprived to the extent that it would impair their concentration in school.
Mr Fuller said lack of sleep could have serious ramifications for students' ability to learn and retain information at school the next day.
"The amount of sleep you have directly relates to how much serotonin you have and how vulnerable to stress you are. It means they get less deep sleep and less dream sleep. Sleep helps consolidate long-term memory, it has a big role in learning," he said.
Mr Fuller, who is soon to release his latest book, Tricky Kids, recommended banning mobile phones from bedrooms.
Many lose precious sleep because they stay up late into the night sending text messages to friends, education expert and clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller said. Mr Fuller, who is conducting school-based research on the sleeping habits of students, found sleep was most elusive for female students because they were typically the most eager SMS users.
In a sample survey of 213 boys and 193 girls late last year, 42 per cent of boys and 40 per cent of girls were found to be chronically sleep deprived to the extent that it would impair their concentration in school.
Mr Fuller said lack of sleep could have serious ramifications for students' ability to learn and retain information at school the next day.
"The amount of sleep you have directly relates to how much serotonin you have and how vulnerable to stress you are. It means they get less deep sleep and less dream sleep. Sleep helps consolidate long-term memory, it has a big role in learning," he said.
Mr Fuller, who is soon to release his latest book, Tricky Kids, recommended banning mobile phones from bedrooms.
Hannah Edwards, The Age
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