Is Your Teen Sleep-Deprived?

Many teens tend to stay up late. They’re on social media, watching television or YouTube, studying, or just tossing and turning for hours unable to fall asleep. Sleep can also be disrupted during stressful times during adolescence like exams or relationship problems.

More than two-thirds of high school students in the U.S. are failing to get sufficient sleep on school nights, according to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends that teens should sleep eight to 10 hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health,” explains Virginia Skiba, M.D., a sleep specialist with the Henry Ford Health System. Insufficient sleep can have a negative impact on their grades, athletic performance and mental and physical well-being, including depression and anxiety issues and drug and alcohol use.

It’s a safety issue, as well. Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of teen deaths in the U.S. In a recent survey, more than half of teens admitted to having driven when feeling too tired and nearly one in 10 teens reported having fallen asleep at the wheel.

A typical high school student is biologically wired to fall asleep around 11 p.m. Many high schools in Michigan start school as early as 7 a.m. – long before a teen’s natural wake time. The AASM advocates a later middle school and high school start time of 8:30 a.m. or later.

Tips for a Good Night’s Sleep

Teenagers’ sleep-wake cycles are biologically determined – they are programmed to stay up late at night and sleep later in the morning. Most teens are instinctively night owls. Falling asleep is often a challenge, but there are things teens can do that may help them get a good night’s sleep.

Here are some tips from Dr. Skiba, which apply not only to teens but are great advice for anyone who is struggling with feeling sleep deprived:

► First and foremost, make sleep a priority. In our busy society, too often making time for sleep is last on the list.

► Maintain a consistent bedtime and wake time that allows at least eight hours of nightly sleep, including on weekends and vacation.

► Keep the bedroom quiet and dark. Keep the TV, computer, phone and video game system out of the bedroom.

► Set a technology curfew; turn off all devices one hour before bedtime.

► Engage in quiet activities before bed, like reading, journaling or yoga, and establish a relaxing bedtime ritual.

Dr. Virginia Skiba is a sleep medicine expert who sees patients at Henry Ford Medical Centers in Grosse Pointe and Sterling Heights.

If your teen is struggling with sleep issues, talk to your pediatrician or family doctor to find out if he or she could benefit from a sleep evaluation. Call 1-800-HENRYFORD (436-7936) or visit henryford.com to learn more.

Visit henryford.com/sports or call (313) 972-4216.

Granlund's Voice Continues to Tell Story in 56th Year Serving Clarkston Schools

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

February 13, 2025

CLARKSTON — When many people think of Clarkston as a community, high school and athletic program, they understandably think of Dan Fife. 

Greater DetroitAfter all, Fife was a hometown hero as a standout basketball and baseball player at Clarkston High School, a college basketball player at Michigan, a professional baseball player and ultimately, the longtime boys basketball coach and athletic director who built that hoops program into a state power.

But what some might not know is that there is another prominent figure connected to the school and athletic program, one who has served the community since the year after Fife graduated from high school in 1967. 

It’s hard to imagine anyone having Clarkston more in his heart and soul than Neil Granlund.

The 79-year-old Granlund has been a part of the Clarkston community since starting his teaching career in the district in 1968. He is best-known at the moment not just as an announcer within the athletic program, but as pretty much THE announcer for Clarkston athletics.

Granlund is the main announcer for contests in football, boys and girls basketball, hockey, boys and girls soccer, and track & field. He also helps out announcing for volleyball, wrestling, lacrosse and field hockey. 

And those are just the high school sports within the community. Granlund also announces middle school track events. 

Granlund took over the football and basketball duties in 2018 after the longtime “Voice of the Wolves,” Dale Ryan, retired. For all those years, Granlund was Ryan’s right-hand man spotting in the press box and working the clock. 

When Ryan stepped away, it was a no-brainer to have Granlund take over, even if he was seemingly announcing every other sport for the school. 

Granlund, right, takes his place in the Michigan Stadium press box in advance of announcing Clarkston’s “Battle at the Big House” football game. When Granlund stepped into Ryan’s role for football and basketball, he said Fife offered some advice. 

“He gave me instructions on what to and how he wanted it done,” Granlund said. “He told me that you’re not the cheerleader. He didn’t want nicknames for the kids. Just keep it strait-laced and treat both schools fairly. I’ve always stuck to that.”

Granlund said announcing Clarkston football games when the Wolves played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor and doing Clarkston team introductions when they advanced to championship games at Ford Field have been thrills, adding others in the community have helped make his life easier when switching from sport to sport.

“I had mediocre understanding of the sports, but I’ve had good people to work with,” he said. “In football, you are only as good as your spotter.”

Clarkston as an athletic program has had many memorable moments since 2013, whether it’s been the football team breaking through and winning Division 1 titles in 2013, 2014 and 2017, or Fife finally realizing a lifelong dream by leading the basketball team to Class A titles in 2017 and 2018. 

But Granlund said the most memorable moment came during a basketball game at the old high school between Clarkston and historic archival Pontiac Northern. 

Clarkston was coached by Fife, while Northern was coached by the legendary Sy Green, and the game was played before the 3-point line. 

Granlund said before that game, referees told him that they couldn’t hear the buzzer on the scoreboard. 

So they gave Granlund a task.

The referees gave Granlund a towel and said If the game came down to a buzzer-beating shot, Granlund would monitor the clock and the action on the court to see if the player beat the clock with his shot. Granlund would then throw the towel to the middle of the court to indicate that the shot counted. 

Granlund narrates the action during another event at the school.“Sure thing, that’s what did happen,” said Granlund, adding Clarkston was down by two and attempting a game-tying shot. “Clarkston went on to tie the game. I remember when that did go off — I had that panel in front of me so I could see exactly what the time was on the clock when it had left the player’s hand — both Sy Green and Dan Fife looked at me and I gave the signal that the basket was good. That tied the game, and it went into overtime. That was exciting. Everything in that old gym was exciting.”

While that was the most memorable moment to date for Granlund at Clarkston, the one he wants to see most hasn’t happened yet. 

Granlund’s biggest dream is to see the boys soccer team win a Finals championship, something it came closest to accomplishing in 2007 when the Wolves lost to East Kentwood in the Division 1 title match. 

Granlund was the school’s first boys soccer coach, starting the program in 1983, and helped build it up until he stepped away as coach in 1990. But he has stayed involved as the announcer and a general supporter.

“I wish we could (win a state title) one of these days,” he said. “Having started the soccer program here, I always stuck with it.”

Even though he is nearing 80, Granlund might still be around to one day see the Wolves win that soccer championship. He still teaches a construction tech class for the high school, doing so for the same reason he still announces: He loves being around kids he says are so good to him. 

Teaching also gives him an opportunity to spend more time with his grandson, who is in the class.

“He said ‘Grandpa, will you stick around for a couple more years?’” Granlund said. “I said, ‘Oh yeah.’”

As for announcing, listen for his voice to still be a fixture at Clarkston sporting events for the foreseeable future.

“For a while longer,” he said. “I really do enjoy it.”

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Neil Granlund, speaking into the microphone, announces during a Clarkston home basketball game. (Middle) Granlund, right, takes his place in the Michigan Stadium press box in advance of announcing Clarkston’s “Battle at the Big House” football game. (Below) Granlund narrates the action during another event at the school. (Photos by Larry Wright.)