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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

With Kids Back in School, Doctors Affirm No Screens Before Bedtime

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Friday, September 13, 2019   

HELENA, Mont. – With school back in session, doctors are saying, “Well, your mom is right – time to turn the phone off and get to bed,” because you really do need a good night's sleep.

Dr. Simone Fearon, a cardiologist with ThedaCare Cardiovascular Care, points to information from the American Heart Association and others.

She says it shows that for their mental, emotional and physical health, teens should turn the screens off well before bedtime.

"The laptop, the TV, the cell phone, the smartphone, what I would recommend is at least two hours, before bedtime," she urges.

Fearon says research confirms what parents always say – that foggy feeling you get without enough sleep means poorer learning, worse decision making and long-term issues with physical health.

So put down the phone, turn off the computer and get to bed!

And she knows young people will push back, just as they've done for generations.

"A lot of teens will say, 'No, I'm just using this to relax,'” she relates. “I hear that a lot in my own household.

“But the reality is that it does not cause you to relax. It actually keeps you more awake."

One serious point Fearon makes is that teens are naturally prone to take risks – it's part of growing up.

But she says a lack of sleep will disrupt their thinking and emotions, and push them to take chances they shouldn't.

"Drug taking, unfortunately,” she points out. “Careless driving. Kind of making poor choices. Those are some of the short-term effects of not really having a good quality night's rest."




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