| Junk sleep damaging teenagers' health
Teenagers are damaging their health by not getting enough sleep because they are distracted by electronic gadgets in their bedrooms, according to a survey. UK advice body The Sleep Council said "junk sleep" could rival the consumption of unhealthy junk food as a major lifestyle issue for parents of teenage children. Its poll of 1,000 youngsters aged 12 to 16 found that 30 per cent managed just 4 to 7 hours sleep as opposed to the recommended 8 or 9 hours. Almost a quarter said they fell asleep more than once a week while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic gadgets "This is an incredibly worrying trend," said Dr Chris Idzikowski of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre. "What we are seeing is the emergence of Junk Sleep - that is sleep that is of neither the length nor quality that it should be in order to feed the brain with the rest it needs to perform properly at school." Nearly all the teenagers had a phone, music system or TV in their bedroom, with around two-thirds possessing all three.
Changing The Way Kids Eat At School
(DANVILLE)---Kids in Danville are getting healthier and more active thanks to a new program that takes junk food out of their school. Starting back in July, administrators at Northeast Elementary began a complete overhaul of the school's lunch menu and physical education program. That means no junk food of any kind. Items like wheat bread, fruits, veggies and even turkey hot dogs can now be found behind freezer doors. The school also put into place a new daily exercise program and school officials say so far it's working. "I had a mother tell me last week that they were at the grocery store and her son said, mom we need to get more fruit. We talked about fruit today and that's on the food pyramid." Says Northeast principal Kathy Houpt "So we're hearing interesting stories from parents that kids are more focused on eating healthy." she says The principal says cup cakes aren't even allowed for birthday parties anymore, as they aim for healthier food choices.
Students will bite into healthy choices at school
When Troy students go back to the cafeteria line this year, they�ll continue to see more healthy food choices.
A variety of salads, packaged fruit and wheat bread are all on the menu, according to Gayle Moran, director of food service for the Troy School District.
But changes won�t be overwhelming.
�The changes we�ve made, we�ve done very gradually,� she said.
�We did put the wellness policy together two years now. We wanted to educate the students rather than force them to eat something healthy.�
A wellness policy is now required for schools participating in the federal lunch program. The policy enhanced the mission of providing a nutritious food service program, she said.
Students seem to have a taste for healthy foods � and beverages.
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