Interesting article... *"For Teens, later to bed, the Worse the Outlook" * by Greg Toppo, USA Today Teens whose parents let them stay up after midnight on weeknights have a much higher chance of being depressed or suicidal than teens whose parents enforce an earlier bedtime, says research being presented today at a national sleep conference. The findings are the first to examine bedtimes' effects on kids' mental health - and the results are noteworthy. Middle- and high-schoolers whose parents don't require them to be in bed before midnight on school nights are 42 percent more likely to be depressed than teens whose parents require a 10 p.m. or earlier bedtime. And teens who are allowed to stay up late are 30 percent more likely to have had suicidal thoughts in the past year. The differences are smaller but still significant - 25 percent and 20 percent, respectively - after controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity. A team led by Columbia University Medical Center's James Gangwisch examined surveys from 15,659 teens and their parents who took part in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) adolescent health study. Previous research has established a firm connection between teens getting less sleep and feeling depressed or suicidal. The NIH survey found that kids whose parents called for a 9-10 p.m. bedtime said they were in bed, on average, by 10:04 p.m. They slept for 8 hours and 10 minutes on average, compared with 7 hours for kids allowed to stay up past midnight. The lesson for parents is simple, Gangwisch says: try to sell teenagers on the importance of getting enough sleep. They need about nine hours, the NIH says. Rafael Pelayo, an associate professor of pediatric sleep medicine at Stanford University, agrees. "They've got to think it's in their own best interest to get to sleep," says Pelayo, who read the study. Says Gangwisch, "We feel like we can just eat into our sleep time, but we pay for it in many different ways." The data come from analyses of NIH surveys from 1994 to 1996. Gangwisch believes disparities between teens with and without prescribed bedtimes are greater today, given greater distractions. In 1996, for instance, teens couldn't stay up late texting and checking Facebook. "I would guess that there are more kids getting less sleep," he says. Gangwisch is presenting the findings in Seattle at SLEEP 2009, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. *Disclaimer: Views expressed here (except those quoted or referenced) are the author’s own * On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 11:34 AM, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com>wrote:

Mwende,

Let's get touch base, locally.

I am investigating a compliant report where mobile companies through the Sunday Nation (last page) reportedly caused to be published invitation to (SMS) content that would contravene Section 84(d) of Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act.

I shall revert with my findings.

regards,

Alex

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Dear all,

Given that most people including children have access to mobiles, there is now a growing problem being referred to as 'sexting'. (View CBS news clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xOZ81dXzdA&feature=channel_page).

Are there the parental control services available in Kenya?

Kind regards Mwende

Disclaimer: Views expressed here (except those quoted or referenced) are

On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 5:36 AM, mwende njiraini<mwende.njiraini@gmail.com> wrote: the

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author’s own

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