With the added stress of school, social pressures and significant increases in newly arriving hormones, middle school kids up to college freshman are suffering from a lack of both quantity and quality of restful sleep. A recent study looked at the direct relationship between grades and sleep. Researchers found that students who received not only more sleep---but also a better quality of sleep, got more A's and B's, while the teens who got less sleep received more C's and D's.
"There's a massive shift in a kid's ability to get restorative rest when their hormones begin raging". Says David A. Mayen, director of the Sleep Recovery Centers in Manhattan Beach, Ca. "They may appear sound asleep for eight to nine hours, but when it takes them forever to wake up, and they're irritable and grouchy; these symptoms can speak volumes about the lack of quality sleep these kids are suffering from".
And given enough reinforcement, this negative sleep cycle can quick build upon itself. Given half the chance, teens will stay up later and later with endless rounds of texting and Facebook activities with their fellow ‘teenage insomniacs in training'. There is also some suspicion that the rise in adolescent depression may be due to these issues surrounding this lack of restorative sleep.
So what's the solution?
As futuristic as it sounds, the human brain can actually be retrained with computer technology to optimize long term sleep quality. Two sensors are placed on the scalp, very much like sensitive microphones that listen in on the faint electrical signals on both left and right brain hemispheres. This data is then analyzed by the NeruOptimalTM software and suggested adjustments are fed back to the brain in the form of little skips and scratches embedded in headphone music. The three main pluses of NeurOptimal training, in addition to restoring sleep; its non-invasive, (no electricity ever enters the child's brain), it's non-drug and on-going sessions are not necessary for the benefits to last. Apparently the training is so safe, that it's being used on children with sleep issues as young as six years old.
A recent NeurOptimal TM survey conducted over eight years and 1.2 million session hours alleges an improvement rate of 83.3% for restored sleep, 83.7% improvement for academic school failure and an 83.7% improvement for ADD/ADHD in children and teens. All of which have a history of contributing to poor GPA levels.
Results for improved sleep can be seen in as little as three sessions. And, by the way, before you pass this off as new-age nonsense; be aware there's a whole department at UCLA devoted to this training technology. Brainwave training has been around for nearly 40 years now. It just hasn't gotten as much press attention as pharmaceuticals.....go figure!
"At Sleep Recovery Centers, we are more focused on producing results and empathetic client care, as opposed to herding as many people through the practice as possible. New clients are listened to and treated with dignity. Their exhausted, irritable and downright fed up with the lack of choices previously offered." says David Mayen. "The training works well with most people, but not everyone. If we don't see results within 3 sessions, there's no charge. And if their case proves to be more complicated, we refer them to a professional better suited to help. No one ever gets left behind".
Training sessions are performed during the day or early evening, last about 40 minutes and usually carry little to no side effects. Occasionally there is some mild agitation in the beginning stages of training, but usually dissipates within the first three sessions. Mayen seems to think this is just the brain's way of making sense of the training. And probably the best part of using NeuOptimal with kids, is other than sitting there listening to their favorite music...they don't have to do anything! There's no trying to get them to open up to a counselor. And even the most resistant kids seem to enjoy the training only after a few sessions. Of the trainees interviewed for this article, all are still sleeping well six months or more after finishing the sleep recovery program.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith
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