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Campaign emphasizes more sleep for grade-school children
Wednesday, February 28, 2001 By Karen MacPherson, Post-Gazette National Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Sleep experts say it's elementary: a good night of ZZZZ's helps children earn As and Bs.
But convincing children -- and their busy parents -- of the importance of sleep over play, study or family time is a tough sell.
The National Center on Sleep Disorders Research yesterday launched a five-year national education campaign to underline the point that grade-schoolers need at least nine hours of sleep each night to perform their best, at school or at home.
"I think this problem of not getting enough sleep has always been with us," said Carl Hunt, director of the center, which is part of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. "But the problem has certainly gotten worse as the competing opportunities to do something other than sleep have increased. For example, television [added] a new opportunity to do something other than sleep.
A 1999 study by the National Sleep Foundation found that nearly 60 percent of children ages 7 to 12 said they were sometimes, often or always tired during the day. Fifteen percent said they sleep in school.
The fatigue factor among grade-schoolers has many causes. Parents working long hours want to spend time at night with their children. Evening sports or enrichment activities push back bedtimes. Add in children who watch television before bed (experts say this can cause sleeplessness) and parents too tired to enforce a strict bedtime regimen, and you've got a sleep problem that's getting worse, the experts say.
One reason the new education campaign is focusing on grade-schoolers is because sleep experts believe it's important to develop good sleep habits early. "If we want our adult citizens to have healthy sleep, they are more likely to do that if they learn healthy sleep habits from the beginning," Hunt said. "Good health maintenance begins in childhood."
Another reason is that considerable attention has been paid recently to teenagers' lack of sleep, to the point that a number of high schools across the country have pushed back their starting times. During adolescence, maturational changes increase the need for sleep while school demands, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities and late-night socializing often lead to less sleep. Much less attention has been directed at similar problems for growing grade-schoolers.
"Garfield," the comic creation of artist Jim Davis, will serve as official "spokescat" for the new education campaign, which is called "Sleep Well. Do Well." Research shows that Garfield, who will be portrayed as a "Star Sleeper," is particularly popular with the 7-to-11-year-old set, the group the campaign is attempting to reach.
As part of the campaign kick-off, the sleep center held an Internet competition two months ago among grade-schoolers to see who could draw the funniest ending to a cartoon featuring a sleep-deprived Garfield.
One of three winners is 10-year-old Katie Seamon of Bellevue. In her cartoon, Katie, a fifth grader at St. Teresa of Avila in West View, showed a sleepy Garfield kissing the much-loathed kitten Nermel instead of his mirror.
Katie and her parents were featured yesterday at a news conference announcing the sleep initiative, where Katie and the other two winners were given an original "Garfield" comic strip, a plush "Garfield" and a "Fun Pad," a 48-page book of games and puzzles with a sleep theme.
"Katie is very interested in doing cartooning, and she's a big Garfield fan," said Alaine Seamon, Katie's mom. Does Katie herself get enough sleep each night? Not always, Seamon admitted. "But I know that when she doesn't get enough sleep, it makes a big difference."
The initiative is co-sponsored by PAWS Inc., the company owned by "Garfield" creator Davis, and supported by the National Association of Elementary School Teachers, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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