Remember that margarine commercial stating, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”?  Well, sometimes there’s no fooling about it, we just can’t change Mother Nature.  Case in point is the teen age biological clock.  It is an unhappy mystery as to why teens seem to want to stay up later than the other age groups and thus want to get up later, as well.  When teens are forced to get up earlier, bad things can happen, and several studies are showing this in particular related to car accidents.  A study reported at the American Academy of Sleep Societies in San Antonio told of two high schools in the adjacent cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, comparing car crash rates in 2008 for high school students.  Virginia Beach’s school classes started at 7:20 A.M., and Chesapeake’s began at 8:40 A.M. The number of accidents was higher by about 40% in the city with the earlier school time.  That is very significant.  Another study from Lexington, Kentucky compared the car crash rates in the same school which had changed their school hours.  The first year the school started earlier, and the second year, they started later.  The Kentucky school saw a decline in the number of accidents by over 16%, during a time when car crashes in the rest of the state for teens increased almost 8%.  And the other thought that occurs, if kids aren’t alert enough to drive, are they alert enough to learn?  Wouldn’t it be nice if we could let teens sleep in until 8 or 9 AM?  It does make life much more difficult when different groups are on different schedules, so there is no easy answer here.  Alas, Mother Nature wins again, making our lives a little more challenging!  Well, do the best you can, and get as much sleep as possible, for everyone, and give that kid a hug.  I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.

Topic #2

Sleepiness may look like ADHD, according to a study that was presented at the SLEEP 2010 meeting in San Antonio.  This study out of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor looked at kids ages 3 to 18 who were referred to a sleep lab, for a variety of problems, of course, all thought to be sleep related.  The kids and families filled out an ADHD evaluation, among other questionnaires.  Sleepiness was seen in a high number of all kids, ranging from 60% sleepiness in the 3-6 year olds to 87% sleepiness in the 12 to 18 year olds.  Kids were evaluated for insomnia, sleep apnea, periodic movement disorders, like restless leg syndrome, among others.  It has been found that kids aren’t obviously sleepy during the day, and so seem wired, but in reality many of them may actually be sleepy, especially if they aren’t getting adequate sleep due to an underlying problem.  Since we have known for quite a while that many kids with ADHD have sleep problems, it has become a real problem to tell if the ADHD symptoms are true ADHD or are sleep related.  And for some, it may be a combination.  So, what to do?  Pay attention to your child’s sleeping, even if it means you may miss a little shut eye.  Does your child snore or cough at night or wake up through the night a lot, or can’t get to sleep in the first place, or move an excessive amount?  What is the nighttime routine?  Most children do best without the TV or much noise at all.  Most people take about 2 hours to calm down to be able to sleep, so the nighttime routine needs to start 2 hours before they should be asleep.  A consistent bedtime and consistent wake time help to process as well.  Contact your doctor if questions.  We want to recognize ADHD when it is present, but we don’t want to mislabel someone as ADHD when the problem is sleep.  Give that kid a hug, and count his zzzzs every now and then.  I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.

Topic #3

Does smoking affect a person’s view of food?  According to a study in the journal, Pediatrics from Yale, it may.  They surveyed 4,500 adolescents in a Connecticut high school, comparing nonsmokers, heavy smokers and light smokers, in relation to diet.  They were looking specifically at how the kids would restrict their diets.  In particular, the study viewed unhealthy diet restriction, which most likely meant not eating the appropriate amount of vegetables and fruits, and healthy diet restriction, which most likely meant curbing the sweets, high sugared drinks, and the like.  What the study found was that some adolescent smokers seem to use smoking as a weight control method.  The adolescent smokers were more likely to show unhealthy diet restriction patterns, meaning they probably didn’t make good choices, like eating those vegetables and fruits.  Now this was only one school, so can’t be necessarily stated for all areas.  But I just though it was worth considering and also to bring up the idea that some teens may have the idea smoking is a good way to loose or at least maintain weight.  It is important to be sure all kids know the healthy ways to eat, and not fall into habits that can cause other problems.  Smoking shouldn’t be on the list for ways to control weight gain.  Summer is really here, so now is the time to check in with those kids, and what they have been getting into the habit of eating and drinking.  Be sure it includes those 5 vegetables and fruits, 3 milk products and 2 proteins each day and lots of water.  If anyone in your family wants to stop smoking, contact your doctor or your pharmacist.  Give that kid a hug, I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.