On the afternoons of Tuesday, February 6, and Wednesday, February 7, two groups of Upper School students ventured to the Sleep Research Lab at the University of Chicago. Guided by Dr. Eve Van Cauter, director of the university’s Sleep, Metabolism, and Health Center and this year’s Visiting Scientist, they learned about the facility’s cutting-edge technology, diagnostic procedures, and recent studies.

The field trip is a staple of the annual Robert A. Pritzker Visiting Scientist program, allowing the Visiting Scientist to show students their work environment and discuss their research at a deeper level. Last year, then-Visiting Scientist Computer Scientist Rick Stevens hosted a group of students at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Il., and two years ago, students met with Astrophysicist Wendy Freedman at the University of Chicago.

“It’s an example of science in action,” Upper School Science teacher Kara Schupp said. “We often as teachers pull papers, journal articles, or reference statistics, and it’s important to see, behind the curtain, the techniques, equipment, and people that allow that data to be collected and a conclusion to be drawn.”

On the second trip, Parker students observed a sleep study — a college student who felt excessively tired during the day was tested for sleep disorders. The group watched as doctors pasted electrodes to her head and neck in order to monitor electrical activity in her brain, muscle tone in the chin, and eye movement, all factors that are considered to determine the current sleep stage. From a separate room, the students watched as the computer screen on the wall was illuminated with continuous data from each electrode.

After touring the sleep labs, both Parker student groups learned about the university’s clinical trials, which investigate ways to mitigate the harm caused by sleep disorders associated with shorter lifespans. The groups also saw the lab’s new DNA machine, which can isolate and quantify the amount of DNA in a wide variety of samples.

Van Cauter believes the field trip was a valuable opportunity for high school students. “It’s exposure to a whole new world to high school students,” Van Cauter said. “It is exciting work—the biomedical sciences is an exciting field. There’s progress all the time. To understand how the progress is made, how the work is done, and the kind of people who do that kind of work may inspire students for later on.”

Junior Isabel Olesinski, who attended the Wednesday trip, appreciated the exposure to the field of sleep science. “I want to be a doctor or scientist someday, and it was interesting to learn about something so basic that all of us do, but we never think about it,” Olesinski said. “Sleep is more complicated than I thought.  I didn’t know how much research goes into understanding sleep — there are a lot of who patients go through the testing, and a lot of scientists who are studying what happens.”

Upper School science teacher Leslie Webster acknowledges the importance of understanding the background of scientific discoveries. “At her MX and lecture, Dr. Van Cauter did an excellent job of getting 100 years of modern research about sleep together and presenting the most persistent findings,” Webster said. “On the field trip, we heard from the doctors, fellows, and lab techs about the actual work that goes into proving these findings.”

One of the “findings” that  Van Cauter emphasized during her lecture is the link between lack of sleep and obesity. Through collaboration with nutritionists, researchers at UChicago determined that a sleep-deprived person is likely to consume more food than a well-rested person and elect to eat unhealthy foods. Another study linked a lack of sleep to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

“You have to pay attention to sleep in the same way that you pay attention to food and the same way you try to be physically active,” Van Cauter said. “ It’s an essential ingredient of a healthy lifestyle.”

To Bella Evan-Cook, who attended the Tuesday trip, it’s important for the community to prioritize sleep. “Dr. Van Cauter’s involvement is starting a bigger conversation, especially with teachers and administration about homework and activities, and how much kids should be involved,” Evan-Cook said. “There’s this sense that you have to be everything, a super well-rounded person. As a society, we tend to push down health and wellbeing.”

Schupp agrees. “Our culture embraces this idea of saying ‘way to go, you worked so hard and only slept for five hours,’” Schupp said. “We should look at sleep deprivation without glorification. We should be embracing what’s scientifically proven to be the right amount.”