Some students fall asleep in class during the first and second period in the classroom. Teachers experience this problem in our classrooms; the purpose of this unit is to provide information to students on why a good sleep is very important to them.
Unit Objectives
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1. Help students acquire knowledge and skills needed to carry out their responsibilities and rights.
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2. Help students improve on their thinking and decision making skills
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3. Help students understand the effects and function of sleep and stress on the body systems.
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4. Help students use skills in finding, comprehending, organizing, communicating information, and ideas.
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5. Increasing student vocabulary.
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6. Group discussion on sleep and stress
Curriculum Unit Plan
Sleep Problem
For some, falling asleep is as simple as lying back on a soft pillow. But for others, it is a frustration process of tossing, turning and glancing nervously at the advancing clock. Whether you awake refreshed and ready to face the day or wakeup red-eyed and sluggish depends on your sleep. Adults, and students make wake-up 1:30 a.m. You close your eyes and try to ignore the glaring red numbers on the digital clock, but somehow they burn right through your eyelids. You try to turn over into a deep slumber, but your mind races with inconsequential thoughts.
Same at 4: a.m. you are still awake. You think you are too hot, so you throw off the covers, then you become too cold, and you pull the blanket up to you chin and flop onto your back. You lie there long enough to see the first rays of daylight peek through the blinds, and finally, at 6: 25 a.m., you fall asleep. At 6:45 a.m. your alarm shrieks.
Though it may feel as if you are the only person tossing and turning, you are not alone. Research has shown that up to 40 percent of the population suffers from insomnia every year. A 1995 Gallup Poll conducted for the National Sleep Foundation in Washington D.C. showed that one out of two American experience insomnia.
As frustrating as nighttime sleeplessness can feel, the real problems associated with lack of sleep assert themselves in the daytime. "Cook reports that people suffering from long-time insomnia have two-and-half times more accidents than those who enjoy good sleep. They also demonstrate reduced productivity, have decreased cognitive abilities, suffer impaired memory and concentration, experience excessive daytime sleepiness, and are more irritable. Insomnia can interfere with work, relationship and the simple enjoyment of life.
What is a good sleep environment?
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1. Dark. Avoid lights, including night-light. Keep the window covered with blinds or curtains.
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2. Cool. Keep the temperature of your sleep environment cool enough to necessitate blankets for warmth.
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3. Quiet. Falling asleep and staying asleep is much easier if your environment is quiet. Use earplugs, if you cannot control the level of your sleep environment
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4. Comfortable. Make sure you are sleeping on a comfortable mattress. A good mattress will support your back and will not leave you stiff and sore in the morning.
What is a good night of sleep?
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1. An uninterrupted sleep
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2. A refreshing sleep
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3. A deep sleep
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4. A length of time that works for you personally (the average adult needs 7.5 to 8 hours per night."
According to Cook, definition of sleep disorders is a disruptive pattern of sleep that may include difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep. Lack of sleep results in repeated headaches or temporary changes in the diameter of the blood vessels in the head.
Rapid eye movement sleep is different types of sleep, in which the eyes move rapidly and vivid dreaming is most common. During a night, there will be several cycles of non- rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement. Sleep walking mostly often occurs during deep, early night non- rapid eye movement sleep. It could occur also during rapid eye movement sleep.
In children, according to Cook, the cause of sleep walking is unknown but may also be related to fatigue, poor sleep loss, or anxiety. In adults, sleep walking is usually associated with a disorder of the mind but may also be seen as a reactions to drugs and/or medications and alcohol, and medical conditions such as partial complex seizures. In the elderly, sleep walking may be a symptom of an organic brain syndrome or rapid eye movement behavior disorders. The sleep walking activity may include simply sitting up and appearing awake while actually asleep, getting up and around, or complex activities such as moving furniture, going to the bathroom, dressing and undressing, and similar activities. Some people fall asleep while driving and as a result cause injury to the driver and innocent people. This unit will address the issue during class period.
Sleep walking
Another misconception is that a person cannot be injured when sleep walking. Students need to have a broad knowledge of the brain to be able to draw conclusions, and to distinguish false from accurate and develop their vocabulary. Actually, injuries caused by such things as tripping and loss of balance are common for sleepwalkers. Sleep walking occurs at any age, but it occurs most often in children aged 6 to 12 years old. It may occur in younger children, adults, or in the elderly, and it appears to run in families.
Sleep problems: Definition of Insomnia is chronic inability to sleep, sleep problem may be temporary and come from a simple cause, such as jet lag. Temporary insomnia may be caused by an illness or a stressful event or by drinking too much coffee. Stress, depression or anxiety may cause long lasting insomnia. Expect to have trouble sleeping and become irritable when bedtime are difficult. Some people can maintain sleep problems for many years.
There are several factors that can contribute to sleep problems:
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1) Age. Many infants may sleep up to 16 hours per day. But most children don't sleep through the night without a feeding until about 4 to 5 months of age. School-aged children may sleep for 10 hours or less. People over the age of 60 may not sleep as deeply as younger people.
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2) Lifestyle. People who drink coffee, smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol are more likely to have sleep problems than people whose lifestyle are not associated with bad habits.
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3) Medication. Many medications can cause sleeplessness. Others can cause daytime fatigue, depression and anxiety. Some people find it difficult to sleep at night because they become breathless when they lie down.
Virtually everyone suffers at least an occasional night of poor sleep but some people are particularly vulnerable. These people include students, shift workers, in ability to sleep caused by traveling across several time zones and the biological rhythms, and person suffering from acute stress, environmental interference such as rooms that are too hot or too noisy. Bright can be a barrier to good sleep. The comfort and size of the bed and the habits of your sleep partner are also important. A number of other factors such as arthritis, chronic pain, asthma, and sleep apnea can cause problems with sleep. Additionally, other hormonal shifts such as menopause accompanied by hot flashes, and pregnancy can also make sleep difficult.
These are samples of 10 questions taken from the sleep hygiene test: This question would be distributed to students, as a class exercise. Students would answer all questions as unit practice. Then discuss how the students feel about the test.
Note: This test is not suitable for shift employees or people who work nigh and sleep during the day. Take the Sleep Hygiene Test and find out bedtime behavior that enhances your experience or detracts from it.