College Newsletter Issue 3 / 11 August 2017 From the Principal We need more of those mums and dads…. Matt Walker, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory says: “The evidence is overwhelming, it is irrefutable. Sleep is the single most effective thing you can do to reset your brain and body health each and every day.” Walker goes on to say the sleep-loss epidemic is the greatest public health challenge we face this century. His research has linked sleep deprivation to: SHORT TERM – a poor night’s sleep may hinder our ability to accurately read the emotions of others – an impairment that may have wide-ranging consequences to our social interactions. LONG TERM – psychiatric disorders, obesity, risky behavior, post-traumatic stress disorder, and learning and memory loss. Insufficient sleep is also tied to high rates of cardiovascular disease, the calcification of coronary arteries, hypertension, a number of cancers and stroke. This is not just an issue for adults. We are increasingly aware of the impact of poor sleep on the health and wellbeing of students. Murdoch and Griffith Universities have recently released the results of their first long-term assessment of mental health effects from adolescents’ late-night mobile use (and other portable blue screen devices). The results should be of concern to parents and schools. Of particular significance was the discovery of a direct link between adolescents’ late-night mobile use and poor quality sleep, which subsequently led to poorer mental health outcomes, reduced coping, and lower self-esteem. They concluded that late night phone use was overtaking time set aside for sleep, leading to declines in cognitive functioning, overall wellbeing and mental health. According to the co-author of the study, Dr Kathryn Modecki from the Griffith Menzies Health Institute: “What is especially compelling is that these increases in poor sleep, in turn, led to rises in depressed mood and externalising behaviours (eg- disruption, conduct problems, disconnection, poor emotional response control), and declines in self-esteem and coping one year later.”
As I am quite sure is the case in all schools, here at St Andrews Lutheran College we see the negative effects which present in students of all ages who have poor sleep routines. Just in the past few weeks, I commented to a Year 12 student that she was looking ‘alive’; she rolled her eyes and said her mum had recently watched a documentary on sleep and now she confiscates her phone at 8.30 every night. We need more of those mums and dads! David Bliss Principal
Chaplains Chat A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1 What we say is important. It has the power to build up another person and it has the power to tear them down. I wonder whether you can think of examples in your life when someone has said something hurtful to you, or, perhaps, when you have said something hurtful to another person. In a chapel that I led in the Junior School this week I spoke about the importance of speaking well about another person. This applies when you think that you know all the facts about a situation and when you don’t. At all times, it is really important that we honour the other person with our words. The reason for this is because our honour and reputation is like a possession that we carry. Just like other possessions, it can be lost, stolen or damaged. Sadly, it is very easy to damage the reputation of others and much harder to repair it. For this reason, each person should keep careful watch over their tongue – for whilst it is one of the smallest muscles in the body, it is capable of much good and evil (James 3). What have you been saying with your words lately? Who have you been speaking to? Have they been words of encouragement and life? Or, have they been words that bring down another person? Words that may stem out of anger, frustration, bitterness, envy or pride. I imagine that, if we are honest, most of us can remember a time when we have spoken poorly of another person. It is easy to do and easy to overlook the kind of damage it does. Sometimes, even despite our best efforts, the wrong words came out of our mouth and we wish that we could take them back.