Sleep

[Waiting_For_Godot]

This may have been mentioned before but I'd really appreciate a GP's knowledge (Herm) or anyone else who feels they know the answer to this:

If a child needs roused from sleep, does this mean they are not getting enough?

DS2 goes to bed at 8pm and I need to wake him at 6:40am. He is out cold (or should I say warm as he is so hot!) and lights and noise won't wake him. I have to shake the poor soul. Going to bed earlier is not really an option. At the weekends he goes to bed at 8:30pm and wakes naturally at 7:30am.

I'm concerned he may be lacking sleep if he needs to be roused or if this is perfectly normal. Obviously it's normal for an adult to have to be woken by an alarm most mornings so they don't wake naturally but adults aren't growing and developing.

[mystery]

Well in the absence of Herm, he needs 11 hours per night. So if he has to get up at 6:40 he needs to be asleep at 7:40. Oh dear. You need to move house or school (again?) to make this possible?!! Is he actually asleep all those hours or is it taking him a long time to get to sleep?

I'm not the best person. I don't think anyone should need to wake with an alarm clock. I'm convinced all those minutes of lost sleep get knocked off the end of your life.

[Snowdrops]

If you look at the hours of sleep he gets during the week and compare what he gets at the weekend, there is only half an hour's difference. Personally I wouldn't worry about it. If he was sluggish and constantly yawning/looking tired through the day that would be another matter. I think your son just sleeps deeply is all

[Snowdrops]

BTW, where is Herm? She's not been about for a while

[scarlett]

He probably needs about 10 hours....but aside from a magic number or having to wake him up ( normal this time of year when it's still pitch black at 6.40 !)how is he during the day ? Does he appear to suffer from sleep deprivation ? In children this isn't just sleepiness but being disagreeable or hyperactive ? If he can concentrate at school and " gets himself together " fairly rapidly when awake I shouldn't worry. It's not as if you are waking him up at 4 am and some of us just sleep more deeply then others...my DS1 is the same .


Don't listen to Mystery not all of us leap out of bed at 3.25 am at the first sniff of birdsong...I need about 3 coffees to get going.

[Thingsbehindthesun]

Sleep quality is also important not just quantity. Is your child showing any other signs of the following?

1. Irritable
2. Inattentive
3. Hyperactive
4. Low tolerance to frustration

[Waiting_For_Godot]

Firstly, @ Mystery!

Secondly, he has always been all the things Thingsbehindthesun said. This has been true since the moment he was born so I can't blame that on sleep.

Once up he's pretty delightful. I should add that he now goes to be an hour earlier than he used to but I get him up ten minutes earlier than I used to. The mornings after swimming are pretty horrendous though.

Edit: these things also describe me on a daily basis!

[DenDe]

Well I suffer from all of the above (poss not the hyperactive though) Thank goodness it's because of poor quality sleep and not that I'm a miserable, bad tempered biddy through genetic disposition

[mum23*]

What time do your DCs go to bed (and actually go to sleep). Sometimes DDs are still not asleep even though they went to bed at a reasonable time. WFG your DS seems to go to bed quite early, how old is he if you don't mind me asking? I worry about mine not getting enough sleep. They seem to think their friends stay up really late. We do not have tvs in bedrooms but DDs have been listening to music with headphones on and I'm not sure this is a good idea at bedtime. Would you stop this?

Is there any truth in the night owl/early bird types?

[Fran17]

I do think some children need more sleep than others. My eldest DS has always needed more sleep than his younger brothers. Middle and youngest would just lie there for about an hour after lights out so we let them go to bed a bit later and extended their reading time, so at least they were relaxing in bed.

Mine all get up to radio alarms and my youngest, now 12 and in Year 8 doesn't really wake up until he stumbles into the kitchen. Once he has had his breakfast he is full of beans, so I just think he takes a little time to wake up rather than being sleep deprived. He turns his light out at 9 and generally seems to go off to sleep quite quickly. He gets up a 6.30am.