Sleepy Teens: High School Should Start Later in the Morning

High school classes begin too early in the day!

Ask any groggy teenager waiting for a bus or yawning in “home room” and he or she will tell you that it’s just too darn early in the morning to learn chemistry equations or analyze a narrative by some Russian novelist.

Are they just lazy? No. Scientific studies of teen sleep patterns say they’re right. So do results from numerous schools across the country that have delayed start times: The later classes begin, the more academic performance improves. Bonus points: attendance goes up, teen depression goes down, and fewer student drivers get into car crashes.

Seeing the mounting evidence, the American Academy of Pediatrics yesterday released a new policy statement recommending that middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty, the policy statement says. The conclusions are backed by a technical report the academy also released yesterday, “Insufficient Sleep in Adolescents and Young Adults: An Update on Causes and Consequences,” which is published in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics.

The “research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, lead author of the policy statement, titled “School Start Times for Adolescents.”

Teenagers are heavy smartphone users – many spend six hours a day on their phones – and Apple's iPhone remains their brand of choice. Nearly 7 out of 10 teens surveyed by Piper Jaffray own an iPhone, and 75% percent said they intend to buy an iPhone as their next smartphone. The investment bank found that 69% of teenagers surveyed are currently iPHone users. That's the highest interest in the iPhone among teenagers since at least 2013. […]

Read the text below and answer the two following questionbased on it.

Yellow Fever — Once Again on the Radar Screen in the Americas
Over the past several weeks, a fifth arbovirus, yellow fever virus, has broken out in Brazil, with the majority of the infections occurring in rural areas of the country. These are referred to as sylvatic, or jungle, cases, since the typical transmission cycle occurs between forest mosquitoes and forest-dwelling nonhuman primates, with humans serving only as incidental hosts. In this ongoing outbreak, health authorities have reported 234 confirmed infections and 80 confirmed deaths as of February 2017. Confirmed infections have occurred in the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and São Paulo, and hundreds of additional cases remain under investigation. The high number of cases is out of proportion to the number reported in a typical year in these areas.
Although there is currently no evidence that human-tohuman transmission through Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (urban transmission) has occurred, the outbreak is affecting areas in close proximity to major urban centers where yellow fever vaccine is not routinely administered. This proximity raises concern that, for the first time in decades, urban transmission of yellow fever will occur in Brazil.

Yellow fever is the most severe arbovirus ever to circulate in the Americas, and although vaccination campaigns and vector-control efforts have eliminated it from many areas, sylvatic transmission cycles continue to occur in endemic tropical regions. The most recent outbreak in Brazil highlights this phenomenon. If the current outbreak leads to urban spread through A. aegypti mosquitoes, clinicians should adopt a high index of suspicion for yellow fever, particularly in travelers returning from affected regions. As with all potentially reemerging infectious diseases, public health awareness and preparedness are essential to prevent a resurgence of this historical threat.
Adaptado de: <http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1702172> Acessado em 15 de abril de 2017.

TEXTO:

Serious injury could occur if the following safety precautions are not observed:

Do not use any equipment in any way other than designed or intended by the manufacturer.
Keep all extremities clear from moving parts to avoid injury. Use appropriate positioning, speed and controlled
movements.
Do not use any equipment that is damaged and/or has worn or broken parts.
[5] Obtain a medical exam prior to beginning an exercise program.
If at any time during exercise you feel faint, dizzy or experience pain, stop and consult your physician.
Children must not be allowed to operate these machines. All minors and those with known physical limitations
must be supervised.
SERIOUS injury could occur if the following safetyprecautions are not observed. Disponível em: <http://www.marpokinetics.com/pdf/vmx_manual.pdf>. Acesso em: 19 mar. 2017. Adaptado.

Alcohol is more dangerous than heroin

A recent study in the UK has found out that alcohol is, surprisingly, more dangerous than heroin or crack. Scientists examined 20 drugs and their effects on people and society. While heroin and crack were considered to be very harmful to individuals, heroin, alcohol and cocaine are the worst for society. The study found out that alcohol had the worst overall effects. The study also said that tobacco was at least as harmful as cocaine. Ecstasy, LSD and marijuana were considered to be the drugs that cause the least damage. Substances were marked from 0 to 100 on a scale. Alcohol received 72, the highest rating, while heroin was rated at 55 and crack at 54.

Researchers looked at 16 factors in their study, including a drug’s effect on the brain and body, how it affects the crime rate as well as the costs for the economy. Although cocaine is more addictive, alcohol is the most harmful drug our society because it is most widely used. It does the most damage to the world around us.

Alcohol is drunken by a large part of the population as a social drink. It makes you happy and loosens you up. When it enters the brain it produces a chemical called dopamine. This makes you feel happy and without stress. However, too much alcohol consumption can lead to the destruction of almost all parts of your body. People who drink alcohol are more likely to drive in a drunken state or commit violent acts. The World Health Organization estimates that alcohol causes about 3 million deaths every year, including suicides, car accidents and heart and liver diseases.

Banning alcohol is not the same as forbidding LSD, cocaine or other drugs. It is part of our culture, but the report concludes that governments should do more to educate the population and point out the dangers of alcohol consumption. Especially younger people are at a high risk. They like to combine energy drinks with alcohol. These alcopops taste good but contain a lot of alcohol and are high on calories, which leads to obesity.

TEXTO:

They can reach 2 meters in length, eat a little bit of

everything and are essential for the conservation of what

is left of their habitat, the Atlantic Rainforest. We are

referring to the caiman alligator.

[5] With the destruction of the natural environment, like

other species, the crocodilian reptile’s existence is being

threatened, and hunting is one of the culprits behind

their endangerment, according to the analysis of

conservationist Yhuri Nóbrega, from Project Caiman. “It’s

[10] a difficult issue to approach because it is cultural. At any

of our activities or lectures, we see that people have either

already tried crocodile meat or know someone who has,”

he says.

“In the interior of Bahia, especially near the São

[15] Francisco River, the meat is known as ‘the cod of the

river,’ because it is salted for preservation, and because

of the way in which it is commercialized,” explains

Luciano Verdade, a professor at USP and one of the

leading crocodile experts in Brazil. In the case of the

[20] Caiman latirostris (the caiman’s scientific name), the

issue is that the species generates economic interest,

both for its skin and its meat.

In what remained of the Atlantic Forest, there is

little space for the small communities, especially during

[25] the dry season. It is not difficult to find the crocodiles

outside of their natural environment. It is not unusual to

find them in settling ponds, near pig farming or breeding

pastures.

“Something similar occurs in the wetlands

[30] (Pantanal), but through a natural process. During the dry

season, the pond is reduced, creating a reserve of

bacteria that comes in contact with the crocodiles,” says

the professor. That contamination adds weight to the claim

that consuming crocodile meat from an unknown source

[35] may not be a good idea.

TEXTO:

Like many a diet before it, the Paleo diet relies on a
set of rules claiming to be based on science. People
swear by it and in theory it makes sense, but is it actually
practical?
[5] Paleo harkens back to the days of a different time;
the caveman era. The diet lays out an eating plan that
mimics the way our ancestors ate hundreds of years
ago. The idea is that modern day diseases like obesity,
diabetes, and heart disease are all the result of
[10] processed foods. Things like grains, dairy, legumes, salt,
and sugar which have entered our diets thanks to the
agrarian revolution are all eliminated from the diet. What’s
left? Meat, fish, and veggies. Think of it as retro dieting.
This all sounds sensical and smart, but it also
[15] throws out foods that do have real nutritional value.
Calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and phosphorous in
dairy, and fiber, antioxidants, and B vitamins in grains. In
addition, legumes are a fantastic source of protein and
fiber that also happens to be low fat. The nutrients in
[20] these forbidden foods can lower cholesterol and blood
pressure as well as reduce risk of heart disease and
osteoporosis.
If you have weight problems to begin with and you’re
used to eating lots of processed fatty food, any diet is
[25] likely to help you lose weight Paleo included. Which is a
good thing since obesity is becoming a major epidemic.
The problem with Paleo is that it eliminates things
that are healthy like low fat yogurt, for example. It also
neglects to address portion control, a key element in
[30] losing weight. There’s also no mention of saturated fat
which is a major artery clogger. It would be easy to cut
out grains and just fill up on meats with no concern for
your heart.
Last but not least, the diet forgets one major thing;
[35] we’re human! In the Paleo diet, there’s no room for
cupcakes or fettuccine Alfredo or peanut butter and jelly?
Enjoying delicious food and savoring it is one of life’s
pleasures. In fact, its one of your senses. Sure one may
need to lose weight, but it’s also important to maintain

[40] balance. So go ahead and cut out unhealthy foods. Just

don’t forget to eat that cookie every once in a while.

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