It's simple. It's needed. It's a Nap Room!
No, I'm not joking.
I grew up in a home where my family was rarely in bed before midnight, or even home for that matter, so the fact that I maintained excellent grades through school is a mystery.
Some of my friends weren't so fortunate...
Lack of sleep is a serious problem. It can make you drive worse than if you were drunk (myth busters), it can cause your thoughts to jumble, making speech difficult, if not incoherent, and it is not at all uncommon for the sleep deprived to be excessively moody!
Perhaps we should view adolescence the way we view toddlers, in this respect. Whenever my two year old hasn't had his nap or is awoken prematurely, he is a terror!
Whenever he hits growth spurts, he will at times sleep until 10:00am, then go down for a 3 hour nap by noon!
Are teenagers not hitting one of the biggest grown spurts of their lives?
What teen do you know who hasn't hit a stage at least once where they could sleep past noon, if not all day?
Why then are we not facilitating proper sleep needs for these growing humans?
Call me crazy, but I see a simple solution to this dilemma. Create an optional nap time on a daily basis, by providing a safe, quiet, calming environment conducive to a sound rest.
This can be achieved by simply allowing free access to a gym floor where students may lay a mat of their own or in extravagant cases, where a facility wants to go above and beyond, they might provide a carpeted room that would be muted from startling noises that may make sleep elusive.
I couldn't count the times I dozed off in the mornings I arrived at school early, over the years. I've slept on benches, on book bags and occasionally on the floor...
Perhaps my ability to sleep anywhere has helped me to balance my home life and school work in a way that works...
Perhaps this concept really isn't all that far fetched...
Perhaps an adaptation of this idea should become a reality...
-I don't know about you, but I'd love to see more kiddos do well in school, and ensuring they have a chance at proper quantities of sleep seems pretty legit to me.
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