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Investigating Social Jet Lag in the 6th Grade, a 2015 PhUn Week Activity to Introduce Circadian Physiology in Middle School
Author(s) -
Solocinski Kristen,
Gumz Michelle
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.lb758
Subject(s) - circadian rhythm , timeline , zeitgeber , chronobiology , physiology , schedule , psychology , rest (music) , circadian clock , medicine , demography , neuroscience , geography , computer science , sociology , operating system , archaeology
Dr. Gumz and Ms. Solocinski visited Westwood Middle School in Gainesville, FL to introduce 6th graders to the concept of circadian physiology. They gave a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation to 14 different classes with more than 200 students to introduce physiology and circadian biology. A timeline was used to demonstrate that investigation of circadian rhythms has been taking place for centuries. The students learned that organisms ranging from bread mold to flies to humans rely on an internal circadian clock to adapt to their environment. Consequences of disrupted rhythms in mice, middle school students, medical doctors, and football players were discussed. The students were given parental consent forms and questionnaires to participate in an IRB‐approved study investigating whether social jet lag occurs in the 6th grade. Social jet lag occurs when an individual's internal body clock is out of sync with their daily schedule, and it often happens when a person follows a different sleep/wake schedule on free days versus rest days. Preliminary results indicated that 6 th graders were significantly more tired on school days early in the week relative to rest days. Conversely, significant differences were not observed between school days later in the week relative to rest days. These results suggest that 6 th graders gradually adjust to a school day schedule as the week progresses but they may experience social jet lag from following a different sleep/wake schedule on the weekend.