December 2014 Teacher's Guide for So Tired in the Morning: The Science of Sleep Table of Contents

Connections to Chemistry Concepts

1. 
   Rates of Reaction: Catalysis—In the brain’s pineal gland, the hormone NAT catalyzes the production of melatonin from serotonin. Figure 3 in the Harper sleep article shows the chemical reaction. Concentration of the hormone NAT increases when it is dark, thus increasing the rate of catalysis to form melatonin.
   
2. 
   Biochemistry: Cycles—This article provides a basis for studying cycles in the human body that directly reference teen interests and concerns. The biochemistry of circadian rhythms and the triggers involved are explained and illustrated.
   
3. 
   Biochemistry: Neural Pathways—During study of the brain, students can trace the process from the retinal trigger to the pineal gland where the hormone melatonin is produced.
   
4. 
   Organic Chemistry: nomenclature, structure—The production of melatonin from serotonin shown in Figure 3 of the Harper article, can be used to reinforce student understanding of organic nomenclature, structure, and functional groups.
   
5. 
   Chemical Kinetics: Reaction mechanisms—The process shown in Figure 3 in the Harper article shows the four step mechanism involved in the organic synthesis of melatonin from serotonin.
   

Possible Student Misconceptions

1. 
   “I can catch up on lost sleep during the weekend.” This is not the way to change your biological clock. Sleeping late all weekend tends to confuse your internal diurnal rhythm and may make it even more difficult to fall asleep during the week.
   
2. 
   “During sleep, the body and the brain shut down to rest.” Actually, sleep is an active process. The average teenager burns one calorie per minute while sleeping. In addition to metabolic functions of the body, studies of brain waves show various stages of brain activity during sleep.
   
3. 
   “I can cheat a bit on the amount of sleep each night.” Even if you just cut 20 minutes off the amount of sleep time that you require each night, sleep debt will gradually accumulate and can’t be easily repaid. This may affect your daytime performance in school, sports, and even your mood.
   
4. 
   “My young body is very adjustable and can quickly adapt to different sleep schedules.” One’s biological clock is set to familiar day and night schedules. Trying to quickly change this by working, studying, or playing all night, and sleeping during the day leaves one with decreased ability to solve mental problems and may reduce athletic skills.
   
5. 
   “If I just pay attention to my body and go to bed when I feel sleepy I’ll get enough sleep!” For active teenagers, feeling sleepy may be at 10:00 p.m. This would be fine except when school begins at 8:00 a.m. (or earlier!) The teen body needs nine hours of sleep, so count backwards and allow an extra hour to get ready for school. This is a total of ten hours so if this is your schedule, you will have to go to sleep by 9:00 p.m.
   
6. 
   “Teens need about the same amount of sleep as adults.” Teens actually need more sleep than adults, at least nine hours or more per night. So, they must carefully plan their sleep schedule to be certain that they are fully functioning and not sleepy during the day.
   
7. 
   “Caffeine will take care of everything.” While drinking a cup of coffee or an “energy shot” may wake up a sleepy teen, this is a temporary situation, and too much caffeine can send you to the emergency room.
   
8. 
   “If I feel sleepy while driving, I can just turn up the music loudly, open the windows, and lower the air conditioner setting, then I’ll be fine.” False, this will only temporarily reduce sleepiness and lull one into a false sense of security. The solution is to take a thirty minute nap, or better yet, get a good night’s sleep before a long road trip.
   
9. 
   “Teens who fall asleep in class are lazy!” Sleeping in the morning is usually a sign that teens have not had enough sleep the night before.
   
10. 
    “Counting sheep will help me fall asleep.” Relaxing thoughts or images better induce sleep than the activity involved in counting sheep. If you are still awake after 15-20 minutes, go into another room if possible to read or listen to music until you are relaxed and sleepy, then return to bed.
    

Anticipating Student Questions

1. 
   “My little brother wakes up naturally before 7 a.m., so why am I still half asleep when the alarm rings?” Melatonin, the sleep inducing hormone, is produced about three hours earlier in children than in teens. While the melatonin concentration in your brother’s system has diminished, concentration in your system is still high enough to keep you asleep at 7 a.m.
   
2. 
   “What can I do to fall asleep more quickly at night?” The most important thing you can do to help you fall asleep at night is to create a quiet, light free environment for sleeping. Turn off your phone and television at least half an hour before bedtime and find something quiet like reading to help you relax and fall asleep quickly.
   
3. 
   “Why do I feel groggy and still sleepy after a long nap?” After about 20 minutes of sleep, your brain goes into a deep sleep phase. Waking from deep sleep during a long nap may leave you feeling disoriented and groggy. Short naps, 10-20 minutes, are best.
   
4. 
   “What happens to your biological clock if you are totally blind?” Since the retina in a blind eye cannot respond to light, the production of the sleep producing hormone, melatonin, is not initiated, so there will be no signal to regulate the biological clock. Melatonin supplements are available to help blind people maintain normal sleep/wake cycles.
   
5. 
   “Will dreaming upset my sleep cycle?” Dreaming is normal and usually will not affect your sleep cycle and the quality of your sleep. Even if you don’t remember your dreams, studies show that most people dream for about two hours every night. On the other hand, violent nightmares may disrupt your sleep cycle, leaving you feeling tense and tired.
   
6. 
   “How can I reduce my jet lag when I go to visit my grandparents in Asia?” Jet lag is the extreme tiredness that you feel after flying across several time zones. Before traveling to Asia, you can begin to reset your biological clock by changing your bed time by one or two hours each night to correspond more closely to Asian time.
   
7. 
   “Why does my uncle suddenly fall asleep in the middle of dinner?” Your uncle may have a condition called narcolepsy. If so, he has no control over when he falls asleep because his brain is unable to control his sleep-wake cycles.