
Americans Are Starved for Sleep - paulpauper
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-12-19/americans-especially-teenagers-are-dangerously-sleep-deprived
======
lemoncucumber
I heard that the high school I attended looked into trying to start later
because of all the studies that show it would be beneficial, but realized that
it wasn't doable because of after school sports: our school would have games
against other schools in the area, so if our school started later and the
others didn't then then it would make scheduling games difficult or
impossible.

~~~
adamnemecek
High school sports are such a waste of everything. I legit don’t get why they
are attached to high schools and not independent.

~~~
deadmetheny
Can nerds as a group please drop the "I don't get the sportsball so it's
clearly a waste of time" bit? Athletics promote physical fitness, working
together as a team, and are at their roots generally enjoyable to those who
choose to play them. You can argue about how it's expensive, but in my mind
the price is well worth the investment if it gives kids a sense of
camaraderie, keeps them out of trouble, and helps teach the value of teamwork.
There are of course people who get way too invested in sports, but that is a
totally different problem to be addressed, the sports themselves are generally
fine.

~~~
tracer4201
I think you make some good points. Athletics at school are great for all the
various reasons you mentioned.

The problem, from my experience of going to school in Kansas and Oklahoma, is
that you have all these small towns where academics take a back seat to
sports.

I lived in three different towns until graduating high school. All three towns
cared more for football and basketball than any curriculum.

I graduated in 2008. The textbook we used had no mention of Bill Clintons
presidency and were from around 1991.

We didn't have a rigorous math curriculum. I had Alegebra 1 and 2, Geometry,
and Trig. There was no pre calculus or calculus.

My first year in a CS degree program, I had never seen the symbol for a
summation before.

The district spent a fortune on raising funds or using tax payer money (both)
on keeping the athletic facilities functioning. Yet we couldn't afford to have
better classes or teach math at all. It wasn't even encouraged.

Athletics at school are a good thing. Over index in one area is utter
stupidity.

~~~
deadmetheny
>Athletics at school are a good thing. Over index in one area is utter
stupidity.

I completely agree - there's a huge problem when athletics become the focus of
a school district, and this should absolutely be addressed. I mostly just
wanted to point out in my previous post that this isn't an unavoidable end
point for athletics - I was fortunate in that I attended a high school that
valued both academics and athletics, and feel both have enriched my life and
the idea of dropping athletics for pure academics feels very short-sighted.

------
sn41
In adults, there's also the excessive indulgence in caffeinated drinks like
coffee, and energy drinks which masks sleep deprivation.

~~~
Apocryphon
I've pointed out in the past that the Anglosphere drinks coffee and tea, while
the rest of the world takes naps and siestas and so on. Protestant work ethic
cultural imperialism!

~~~
danans
Anglosphere only? They do consume quite a lot of espresso and cofee in the
Latin-sphere, and the middle-east as well.

~~~
Apocryphon
Yes, but unlike those places there is no Anglo-American tradition of a mid-
workday nap.

~~~
badosu
In rural or small cities yes, in urban settings (where most of the population
lives) no.

~~~
deadmetheny
I've lived in rural areas most of my life and I've never heard of anywhere in
America with a tradition of mid-day naps during the workweek.

~~~
badosu
I mean, it's not common in Latin America to actually have midday naps on any
urban setting. At least here in Brazil where I live.

~~~
Apocryphon
Maybe siestas are more of a Hispanophone thing, not a Lusophone one.

------
timoth3y
But we love it! We have this strange idea that if you are well-rested, you are
somehow lazy.

I recent;y interviewed the founder of a startup that is focused on getting
companies to improve the sleep habits of their employees.

In case you are interested: [https://www.disruptingjapan.com/can-capitalism-
ever-allow-us...](https://www.disruptingjapan.com/can-capitalism-ever-allow-
us-a-good-nights-sleep/)

When I pressed him about how much sleep he got each night, be went into the
same "I'm so busy, I don't have enough time" routine that everyone else does.

Our lack of sleep is a deep societal problem.

------
mbrownnyc
Does anyone else see the irony that this is published on Bloomberg, a company
who's historic record vastly shows a disregard for work/life balance?

