How Much Sleep?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
How Much Sleep?
11
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 11:11am

This topic seems rather trivial in light of current events, but I find my sophomore DD is keeping later and later hours each week and it is worrisome for me.

Due to homework and study demands for the last several weeks DD has not been able to get to bed much before 11:00pm. Last night was 11:45, there was a night before spring break when she was up until almost 1:00am. She gets up at 6:00 and is out the door by 6:45 so imo, she is not getting enough rest -- not nearly enough. I know the teenage 'clock' spins out of control and teens are inclined to keep irregular hours and sleep patterns, but still ...

My DD has always been something of a dawdler and has a tendancy to procrastinate, but I feel that she has been very good about keeping on task the past 4-5 weeks. These late nights do seem to be attributed solely to school demands, and not to mindless games of 'puter solitare or IMing friends. I don't see any real reprieve here either, at least not until the AP exam is over and done (May 11).

She had spring break last week and we ended up going to Europe so while she had a really special trip, it was not particularly restful. Add in that jet-lag factor and you've got a kid that's running on fumes.

As a big believer in sleep and rest, this concerns me quite a bit. What about your teens? Does this seem right and normal?

Thanks!

 

 

 

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Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 11:34am

My senior is a little sleepaholic, so I'm not too concerned about her getting enought sleep. But quality? That I'm not so sure about. I think she does a lot of tossing and turning at night, which would explain why she naps in the afterschool hours and then is up for work or to hang with her gf. Again, she's always been a sleeper. I remember when she was younger, say 10, she would come out at 7:15 and ask, "Mom, can I go to bed now?" Her bedtime was 8, but some nights she just couldn't make it! lol.

And dd19, in college, she's been keeping strange hours and I know she's not getting enough sleep. All her classes are PM and they don't start till 2PM, so she stays up late with the theory that she can sleep late, but her 'clock' wakes her up at 9 AM, so she's getting roughly about 6 hours a night during the week and will sometimes sleep in till about 11 on Sundays. But I guess it's difficult to share a room with 3 other girls and get decent sleep also.

Anyway, enough about mine - lol. Is your dd complaining of being tired? Has she been susceptible to colds, etc.? Is her color and activity level okay? Is she eating healthy? Is she drinking plenty of water, fluids? Does she take a multi-vitamin? These are important questions to answer. I always have to remember that as I've -ugh- aged, I require more sleep and often feel tired if I miss a few hours over the course of the week. But when I think back to when I was in my late teens and well into my mid-30's, I really was running on empty at times and fine! Maybe you could sit with dd and do a little evaluation of her sleep habits just to make sure she's meeting all the other requirements of good health and see if she's really lacking in sleep. Sometimes just chilling and resting is enough to rejuvenate the body.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 12:38pm

This one was my *nightmare* sleeper up until about age 10. She was the one I was up all night with, walked floors with, slept sitting up in bed with her on my chest, was up a dozen times in the middle of the night with ... well, you get the picture. When she moved into a big girl bed, we had a bedtime routine that took HOURS. She just could not, would not fall asleep -- even though she was very obviously in desperate need of it!

Sleep became much easier for her when she hit puberty and now she *loves* her sleep. (My DS is the one I could toss into the crib and find him asleep 20 minutes later.)

Yes, she seems tired and run down. Yes, she takes a multi-vitamin. Activity levels seem *okay* for her age and schedule (although she admitted to feeling very worn out after a day of sight-seeing! But then, who didn't? Or wouldn't?) Her color is OKAY, but she has been very susceptible to break-outs lately (stress, probably?) Eating habits are a work in progress. She IS getting better and (thank you Lord!) it is coming from her and NOT mom.

I explained the 'running of fumes' thing to her today and she said 'yes, that is just how I feel'.

The Environmental Club is previewing "An Inconvenient Truth" today after school and DD is planning on attending. I think she will probably fall asleep.

Her AP teacher has added Saturday morning study sessions from here on out until the AP exam. While the sessions are not mandatory, it is the best interest of students to get to them. Sigh ... well, there are always Sundays to sleep, huh?

We've got a couple more months of this, I guess ...

Thank you for your thoughts!

 

 

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2003
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 1:03pm

My 15 yo dd ends up going to bed mostly between 11 and 11:30 PM and is up daily at 6:45AM to go to school. She's getting less than the 8 hours on a regular basis. Occasionally when she is really tired she might head to bed at 10:30 but my dd is a competitive dancer and her dance classes eat up some evening hours which on top of homework do make going to bed any earlier difficult. She'll only get more than 8 hours on a weekend.

It doesn't concern me for the most part because she is handling it okay. She is healthy and growing and when she feels the need to sleep she will go to bed on her own and sometimes even take a nap when she gets home from school.

I wouldn't worry about it unless she shows some sign of being overly stressed or tired or worn out. The hours you mention are not THAT bad. What is important is that for the 7 hours she might get she should have good quality sleep. For that she should be respecting pre-bedtime routines and not doing anything overstimulating.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2007
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 1:58pm
My DD is 15 and a freshman this year. She goes to bed around 11:00 every night (and only then because I nag her), and she is up by 6:15 on school mornings. She sleeps in on the weekends. This week she's on spring break and slept until about 10:00 the first few mornings, but is now waking up around 7:30 on her own. I don't think your DD's sleep pattern seems all that unusual, as long as she seems healthy otherwise and is catching some extra sleep sometime during the week.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2000
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 2:15pm
Justin goes to bed between 10:30 and 11 and gets up at 6:30 during the week.
Pam
Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 2:20pm

If she is acknowledging that she's running on fumes and feels beaten, is she open to some suggestions on settling down a little earlier at night then?

I know melatonin is a very helpful way of kind of slowing you down a bit so you can get a restful sleep. If it's taken at say 8PM, by 9 she may be ready to turn out the light and go to sleep. When my dd had trouble falling asleep at bedtime, we got her into a routine. Take a nice hot bath with some lavander oils, wear comfy (not too warm) pjs. We put a heated mattress cover on her bed and would warm the bed a little before she got in, then turn it off. We put a light next to her pillow so she could read and then when she was drowsy just reach over and turn it off without having to get out of bed again. I bought sleepytime tea, which helped a little but she didn't like the taste. And there is a homeopathic remedy you can also buy at the health food store called "Quietude" by Boiron. It's very effective, non habit forming and all natural so there are no side effects, etc. That worked when she remembered to take it. lol.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-14-2006
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 2:23pm

DD15 is in bed between 10 and 10:30 every night, and she's up at 5:45 every morning. When she's up later, she's very crabby during the day. Sometimes she sleeps more on the weekends, but she complains that we're too noisy and she can't really sleep in.

I don't know what to advise you about C - it sounds like she's not getting enough sleep, but I'm not sure what the answer is. I do know that L starts her homework as soon as she gets home - some of her friends don't start until 8 or 9 - and then they're up til 1 or so.

Maybe you can help C look at her schedule to better match her needs?

Sue

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
Thu, 04-19-2007 - 2:42pm

Like the others, my teens are in bed by about 11 pm.

Avatar for suzyk2118
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-30-1997
Fri, 04-20-2007 - 10:02am

DS14 is like me; even with his mono he needed at least 9 hours/night - he's in bed by 9:15 and up at 6:30 on school nights and it just never seems enough for him (he's regaining energy). He's NOT the one to put in massive amounts of homework time, though (and his grades do reflect that) - he's just not that driven when it comes to school; at least not as a freshman (but now with them slipping a bit lower than he's comfortable with (he's ok with B-), he's definitely kicking it in more in those classes).

Sue




Edited 4/20/2007 10:10 am ET by suzyk2118
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Fri, 04-20-2007 - 10:46am

Thanks for all your replies. After reading them, it seems that 11:00 or 11:30 isn't all that late or unusual in the teen world. My own teenager years were so long ago now, that I honestly can't recall anything about how much I slept.

Falling asleep isn't so much an issue for DD now (thought it was a huge issue when she was younger) it's now getting everything done so that she CAN go to bed. But aside from being a little tired some mornings, she seems to be managing okay. I don't think I could manage on the hours she keeps, but then I'm OLD!

Thanks again for your responses.

 

 

 

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