Ain't Learnin' Nuthin'

"I am tired" 

One of the most common phrase I hear during the day (second only to "I didn't do it!"). I hear it whether I am talking to students or adults. And tonight, while I'm hoping to sleep soon, I'm curious as to what is keeping us up at night.

There are common answers: I can't shut off my brain, cell phones, tvs, worry, etc. All of us can't necessarily pin point why we are so tired. But I do know one thing: if we're not sleeping, we sure ain't learnin' nuthin.

In every undergraduate education program across the nation, you learn about many different education theories. One in particular is the idea that when a student learns a new concept, their brain changes to make room for that information, giving them a solid "schematic" for future learning. In a nutshell: It makes your brain a file cabinet and all like experiences stay together and grow together.  But, what happens to our brain when we don't sleep? Well, sleep time is when your brain organizes all of the information of the day and puts it into long-term memory. It also makes sure everything is functioning physically within your body. If our brain is the center of all learning, and we live in a world where information is everywhere, then it makes sense that our brains need sleep time to move things around. If it doesn't have the time, we can't learn anything new. The bucket is full. That's all she wrote. Whether you are a student or an adult, the result is always the same: Sleep is necessary to be a life long learner.

Many of the students I see on a daily basis are just that: they are tired. So this is my PSA to Adults: we have to model what good sleep habits are. Student's successes are linked to their brain's ability to do it's job. We have to show our students what that looks like...from doing the samething every night when you get ready for bed. And for Pete's sake, take the tvs out of your kid's bedrooms so there are no distractions once those lights go off. They might kick and scream now, but they will thank you later.

Then, we can all just close our eyes for a minute...and...zzzzzzzzzzzz.