Lisa Lewis Visits Lake Tahoe School
April 3, 2024 | Member Submitted
Written by Artyom Zhakov, 7th grade journalism for Lake Tahoe School newspaper
Everyone knows that sleep is a crucial part of life, but according to Lisa Lewis, you may be doing it wrong. Lisa Lewis, sleep expert and journalist, gave a presentation about sleep to Lake Tahoe School parents and students on March 21, 2024.
A survey of the Lake Tahoe School 7th and 8th graders showed that almost one-third of students are getting less than 8 hours of sleep. However, the APA recommends that children from 7-13 years old get at least 9 hours of sleep, and 14-18 year olds should get at least 8 hours of sleep.
Do you get enough sleep given this range? Having less sleep than this can lead to worse memory causing bad performance in school, reduce reaction time and coordination leading to bad performance or injury while playing sports, and overall lowers your mood. Lisa Lewis’s goal was to help these sleep issues by teaching us how to get better sleep.
When the Lake Tahoe School Press interviewed Ms. Lewis, she told us that the single most important change you can make to your sleeping routine involves your phone and other digital devices. First, according to her research, digital devices should not be used within an hour of sleep. When it is time to sleep, there should be no digital devices in your room unless absolutely necessary. This comes down to three reasons: Being on your phone distracts you from sleep, it can ‘rev’ you up making it harder to fall asleep, and it exposes you to blue light, lowering your sleep hormone melatonin. Hopefully, Lisa Lewis’s visit will bring sleep and smiles to Lake Tahoe School.