Sleep Crucial for Learning New Motor Skills

Getting a good night’s sleep soon after learning new motor skills is essential to retaining them, scientists say. While they have long known the importance of adequate sleep in regard to memorizing facts and other data, the questions remained about how sleep affected motor skills, which involve a different part of the brain. New studies in Germany and in the United States have concluded that while sleep is important for proper storing of these memories in the brain, it must occur “within a critical time frame,” according to the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. People who were taught a skill in the evening and were retested after a full night’s sleep did much better than those who received the training in the morning and were tested 12 hours later, before going to sleep.

Dormir es decisivo para dominar nuevas habilidades motoras

Una buena noche de descanso poco después de haber aprendido nuevas técnicas motoras es esencial para retenerlas, señalan los científicos. Aunque desde hace mucho se sabía de la importancia de dormir bien para memorizar hechos y otros datos, subsistía la pregunta en cuanto a su relación con las habilidades motoras, en las que interviene una sección distinta del cerebro. Según la revista Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, investigaciones recientes en Alemania y Estados Unidos establecen que, si bien dormir es básico para que estos recuerdos se almacenen adecuadamente, se debe dormir “dentro de un espacio de tiempo crítico”. Las personas que aprendieron una técnica por la tarde y fueron reevaluadas tras una noche completa de descanso la dominaron mejor que quienes la aprendieron por la mañana y fueron evaluadas doce horas después, antes de irse a dormir.

Adolescent Mothers

In Mexico the percentage of females between the ages of 10 and 19 who get pregnant “has increased by 50 percent in the last three decades,” states the magazine Cambio of Mexico City. This increase has occurred despite family planning programs and sex education courses in the public schools. Studies by health authorities reveal that “adolescents who smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, or use some illegal drug are four times more prone to have sexual relations at an earlier age.” Additionally, 30 percent of adolescent mothers have a second unplanned child within a year of giving birth to their first, and 50 percent bear a second child within two years. Adding to the problems associated with teen and preteen pregnancies, 60 percent of these young mothers have to raise their children without the support of the child’s father.

Madres adolescentes

En México, el porcentaje de jovencitas entre los 10 y 19 años que quedan embarazadas “se ha incrementado en un 50[%] durante las tres últimas décadas”, afirma la revista Cambio, de la capital del país. Y eso a pesar de los programas de planificación familiar y los cursos de educación sexual impartidos en las escuelas públicas. Estudios del sector Salud revelan que “los adolescentes que fuman, beben alcohol o consumen alguna droga no legal son cuatro veces más propensos a tener relaciones sexuales a edad más temprana”. Además, el 30% de las madres adolescentes tienen un segundo hijo no planeado al año del primer alumbramiento, y el 50%, a los dos años. Los problemas del embarazo de adolescentes y preadolescentes se agravan porque el 60% de ellas se ven obligadas a criar a sus hijos sin el apoyo del padre de la criatura.

Sex Education Needed More Than Ever

According to official figures in Germany, between 1996 and 2001, abortions increased by some 60 percent among 15- to 17-year-olds and by 90 percent among girls even younger, reports Der Spiegel. Norbert Kluge, of the University of Koblenz-Landau, states that while children are reaching sexual maturity at an ever earlier age, they are ‘not properly educated in sexual matters—and especially not early enough.’ Children need to be well informed about the facts of life before they reach the age of ten, but many parents shy away from their responsibility, says Kluge. According to the Berliner Morgenpost, the director of the Federal Parents Council in Bonn advises parents to dwell more on emotional themes, such as “love and relationships,” when giving sex education to their children, rather than on the biological processes.

Educación sexual: más necesaria que nunca

Según fuentes oficiales alemanas mencionadas en Der Spiegel, de 1996 a 2001 se registró un aumento del 60% en la cantidad de abortos entre muchachas de 15 a 17 años de edad, y del 90% en chicas aún más jóvenes. Norbert Kluge, de la Universidad de Koblenz-Landau, afirma que aunque los jóvenes llegan antes a la pubertad, ‘su educación sexual no es apropiada, sobre todo porque no llega a tiempo’. Los niños deben estar bien informados en materia sexual antes de cumplir los 10 años, pero según Kluge, muchos padres eluden su responsabilidad. De acuerdo con el Berliner Morgenpost, el director del Consejo Federal de Padres, con sede en Bonn, recomienda que al hablar de sexualidad, se ponga el acento en el aspecto emocional, como el “amor y las relaciones afectivas”, más bien que en el proceso biológico.

Sleep-Deprived Children

A lack of sleep is having disastrous effects on children’s health, says U.S.News & World Report magazine. Sleep-deprived children perform poorly in school and can have difficulty making friends. “Children with sleep debts often have a shortened attention span, and are irritable, frenetic, and impatient,” reports the magazine. Physicians are concerned that parents are often responsible for these problems. Child psychotherapist Barbara Braun-McDonald says: “If you are keeping your child up until 11 p.m. for family time, you need to re-examine your life.” Parents are encouraged to establish a regular bedtime and wake-up time, even on the weekends, in order to build healthy sleep patterns. Other suggestions include using a regular, prebedtime routine, such as bathing, cuddling, and reading a story for younger children, and limiting access to television or computer within an hour of bedtime.