Who we are
History
This group was founded on January 18, 2023 by Dr. Hoffmann. After realizing the general lack of public awareness of the importance of sleep in teens, and the benefit of delayed school start times, Dr. Hoffmann decided to start SSLiM as a means to connect with the general public, students, parents, school boards, legislators, among other. The goal of SSLiM is to increase awareness of why school start time matters, why sleep is so important, and how the body changes its rhythms and sleep patterns throughout life.
Understanding the unique needs of teens
One size does not fit all
The unique requirement for extra sleep during puberty. Societal pressure on teens is forcing them to follow adult lifestyle which is contributing to their failure in school and life.
Significance
During puberty the body becomes sexually mature. However, during this period the brain also undergoes a massive maturation process, a change which requires additional sleep. Insufficient sleep in teens leads to increased risk taking, reduced conflict resolution and even more importantly, depression and increased risk of suicide.
Why don’t teens get enough sleep? Because adults have decided to start middle and high school out of synch with teens sleep needs. Not only do teens need to sleep more than adults, their bodies biological 24 hour rhythms are delayed by ~3h as compared to adults. This means that 8am for a teenager, is biologically equivalent to 5am for an adult. This delay in teens biological rhythms, means that they would ideally be allowed to sleep till 9am (equivalent to 6am for adults). However, adults have decided that middle and high school start time should be early, most often between 7 and 8am. This mismatch between teenagers need for sleep and the societal pressure to start school early is causing severe sleep deprivation, leading to reduced academic performance, increased depression, and decreased conflict resolution to name a few. We can help fix this problem by matching teenagers biological needs to societal expectations-the first step being prioritizing teens sleep.
Key points
I have been doing research on sex hormones, reproductive maturation and the bodies time keeping system for over 10 years. Despite extensive focus on understanding the interaction between the bodies 24-hour time keeping system and the impact of lack of sleep on wellbeing, this information is not distributed well enough to larger population. Sufficient sleep should be a priority and praised, it should not be considered a luxury or optional
Who we are
SSLiM is a group that aims to spread awareness and teach about how our bodies rhythms change throughout life and the importance of appropriate sleep for overall wellbeing, academic and work success and mental health.
To join the group please reach out to Dr. Hoffmann at hanne@msu.edu
Hanne Hoffmann, Ph.D.
SSLiM group leader
Chapter Leader of Start School Later, Ingham County, MI.
Dr. Hoffmann is a research faculty at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on how the body keeps track of time (biological rhythms), and how these rhythms change throughout life, including during puberty and pregnancy. She is the mother of two elementary school age children.
Laura Humann
Chapter Leader of Start School Later, Walled Lake Consolidated School District, MI and Territory Manager for Snap Diagnostics.
Laura Humann has worked in sleep medicine and neuroscience for over 30 years as a technologist (pediatric and adult), product development specialist, project manager and clinical research trial coordinator. She currently works in medical sales for a home sleep apnea testing company. She is a mom to 3 girls in elementary and middle school
Katherine Nitz
Kath (she/her) is the Chapter Leader for Start School Later, Rochester Hills.
She is passionate about implementing healthy school start times to align with CDC guidelines, putting an end to chronic sleep deprivation and setting students up for success. Kath is also a Community Organizer with Michigan Education Justice Coalition, advocating for public education at the local and state level. As a mom of four, she is dedicated to improving the mental and physical health and safety of all students. Her background is in video production and she loves to travel. In addition to many years of volunteering, she previously worked as a Regional Organizer with Red Wine and Blue.
Andrea Roth, Psychologist
Director of Thriving Minds Behavioral Health in Livonia, MI.
Dr. Roth specializes in treating children with anxiety, depression and selective mutism. She also directs the behavioral sleep medicine program, training clinicians and treating children with difficult and disordered sleep. Dr. Roth graduated with her doctorate in school psychology/clinical child psychology from Yeshiva University/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2014. She has over ten years of experience treating children in various settings including private practice, hospitals and schools. She resides in Plymouth, MI with her husband and two young children.
Brian A. Jacob, Ph.D. is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Education Policy and professor of economics at the Ford School at UofM, and is co-director of the Youth Policy Lab and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research
Dr. Jacob came to Michigan from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government; he previously served as a policy analyst in the NYC Mayor's Office and taught middle school in East Harlem. His primary fields of interest are labor economics, program evaluation, and the economics of education. Brian's current research focuses on urban school reform, with a particular emphasis on standards and accountability initiatives. At the Ford School, he teaches "Economics of Education" and classes focused on education policy. In 2008, Jacob received the David N. Kershaw Prize, an award given every two years to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy. He received a BA from Harvard University in 1992 and a PhD in public policy from the University of Chicago.
Kristen Kalymon, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Director of Autism Program at the University of Michigan UM-ACTS Clinic
Dr. Kalymon is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst with expertise assessing and treating behavioral concerns displayed by children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, as well as other developmental disabilities, through the use of evidence-based parent-training and individual psychotherapy. Areas of specialization include behavioral excesses (i.e., tantrums, self-injury, aggression, and noncompliance) as well as behavioral deficits (i.e., increasing sleep, toileting, and coping skills). Dr. Kalymon received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, completed an internship and fellowship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and then remained on staff as a supervising psychologist and director of clinical operations prior to transitioning to The University of Michigan to run their autism program.
Lily Yan, MD/Ph.D.
Lily is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. She is a neuroscientist trained in the field of circadian biology. Her current research is focusing on the neural mechanisms underlying the interplay between circadian rhythms, sleep and mental health. She is a mother of two children, the younger one is currently attending Okemos High School
Yijie Wang, Ph.D.
Yijie is an Assistant Professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department at Michigan State University. Trained as a developmental psychologist, her research interests center on adolescent development among those from marginalized backgrounds (e.g., youth of color, youth in migrant families). Her work investigates the role of socio-cultural protective factors (e.g., family, peer, and school ethnic/racial socialization), sleep, and executive function that can be leveraged to promote adolescent development in the context of racism and inequality. Her research employs longitudinal and experience sampling/daily diary methodologies to examine developmental processes at varying time scales.