A bright idea to get teenagers switched on and out of bed

• Tuesday, 11 April 2006

With the exam season soon upon us many parents will be dreading the daily battle to get their teenagers out of bed and off to school with a spring in their step!

Help is at hand with a new gadget that any street cred kid will be delighted to use!

At the most crucial stage in their academic life many teenagers show obvious symptoms of sleep deprivation such as appearing groggy and grumpy or even falling asleep in class, but they will probably also under performing in school activities and tests, especially those taking place in the morning.

The reason is far more fundamental than late night Play Station games and, to be fair to them, it is not their fault. During puberty the body clock of a teenager shifts fundamentally so that they can be incapable of getting to sleep before the early hours and cannot function normally before noon.

This knowledge may be comforting to many parents, but the fact that there is actually something they can do about it will come as an enormous relief.

Light therapy, most commonly associated with the treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder and seasonal depression, can reset the teenage body clock in just 15 and 30 minutes if used as soon as they wake up. Leaving them fired up and ready to tackle the day ahead.

Clinical trials with The Litebook® portable light therapy device have demonstrated that teenagers exposed to the intense uv-free bright white light on waking are immediately more alert because the sleep-inducing melatonin hormone is suppressed. Then, by evening, they are ready to go to sleep at a normal time.

With their whole academic life before them, an investment in The Litebook is a small price to pay. The Litebook is just £199 including Next Day Special Delivery to UK postcodes.

For more information and stockists visit www.litebook.info or call 08700433842

ENDS

EDITORS
For more information please contact Barry Fowler on 0117 968 0161 or sales@definetrading.co.uk

EDITORS BRIEFING

At the onset of puberty the teenage body goes into overdrive. Dramatic hormone-related changes and growth spurts mean that teens need to sleep more and their body therefore starts over-producing melatonin – a sleep inducing hormone. Melatonin is one of the elements controlling the internal circadian rhythm or body clock. Daylight suppresses melatonin production during the day. As daylight fades non-visual receptors on the retina stimulate the release of high levels of melatonin which triggers drowsiness.

Research* has demonstrated that teenagers’ changing levels of melatonin can result in a change in ‘time of day preference.’ For example, on testing 8-16 year olds there was strong evidence that at about the age of 13 years old a child’s optimal time of day switches from morning to evening.

This ‘delayed sleep phase syndrome’ can wreak havoc on a teenager’s academic life.

Over the past 20 years research has strongly indicated that bright light therapy using specific wavelengths can be used to reset the body clock. Bright light in the morning switches off the enzymes producing melatonin in the brain allowing the body to wake up more quickly. The body will also then be in the right cycle and fall asleep at the appropriate time in the evening.

The new Litebook is at the leading edge of product developments using patented, low energy LED technology to produce an ultra-bright light that peaks in the blue and green wavelengths - just like the sun. The Litebook® produces no UV radiation so it is safe for the eyes and for the skin.

For the detailed science behind The Litebook visit http://www.litebook.info/light-therapy/about-light-therapy.a... and select from the many clinical trials listed under Articles of interest.

There are other ways to ensure that a child’s body clock remains in sync. Discourage late night activities such as playing computer games and talking to friends. Stimulants such as coffee and tobacco should also be avoided in the evening. At the weekends it is best for them to avoid spending the whole day in bed, although there are no real disadvantages to missing the early morning Litebook dose on days off. As ever, exercise is also a great treatment. It will boost a child’s mood and make them more tired in the evening when it’s time for bed.

This press release was distributed via Response Source, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of AstonPort. For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires