The consequences to teen sleep deprivation

are more serious than classrooms full of sleepy kids. Helene Emsellem, medical director of the Center for Sleep & Wake Disorders in Chevy Chase, Md., and author of "Snooze . . . or Lose!" wrote her in book that there are physical, emotional, academic and behavioral effects:
• Going without enough sleep can make a teen more likely to get sick. Why? Because the number of T-cells in the body -- cells that help us stay healthy --falls by 30 to 40 percent.
• Sleep-deprived teens get more headaches than those that don't.
• Students who earn C's and below go to sleep later and have less regular sleep patterns than students who get better grades. Sleep affects learning and memory.
• Sleep-deprived teens are more likely to use alcohol and drugs than those who don't.