14 hours of sleep for a 12 y/o??

[LisaR]

My son has always required more sleep than most kids but I am slightly concerned about his sleep pattern over the past month. DH says he is just going through a growth spurt.

Background: He took two 2 hours naps a day until he was four and than he took one 2 hour nap a day until he was six. He has almost always had an 8PM bedtime and is honestly sound asleep by 8:02PM.

This past summer he stayed up until 8:30 - 9PM most nights but once the time change hit, he started going back to bed at 8PM - his choice.

Here is where the change comes in. DS has always gotten up around 6:30 - 7AM. He might sleep until 8AM once a month at best.

About a month to 6 weeks ago, he started sleeping in almost every single day. I have lost count of how many times he has slept until 10:30AM. His normal wake up time is now somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30. 14 hours on average! Thankfully we homeschool because he would have overslept and missed his classes the last month.

Other than the excessive sleeping, he seems fine. He is eating normal, happy during the day, playing with friends whenever possible and says he feels fine. Everyone at Thanksgiving thought he had grown so tall since last seeing him a few months earlier. He has gotten taller recently but it hasn't been anything out of the ordinary and his voice has gotten much deeper. Could it just be a growth spurt? Isn't 14 hours of sleep a day unusual?

 

[TexasErin]

Seems kind of odd to me...........I saw this syndrome on Medical Mysteries where a child was sleeping most of the day (seems like it was a teenager), but I mean the child slept almost the whole day and was still very groggy and drowsy when they were up. HOWEVER, since your son is acting normal when he is up, I really don't think that is it- NOT TRYING TO SCARE YOU since they were sleeping like 20 hours a day and always tired. Have you mentioned it to his doctor?
The fact that he has grown noticeably to relatives may mean that he has just been going through a major growth spurt and is starting puberty.

 

[momx2]

Could just be a teenager thing he has started. My DD 11, almost 12 started sleeping in this past summer until like 10:30 unless we woke her. Many of her friends have started doing the same thing and she is in in bed no later than 10 p.m. on non school nights.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Teens sleeping in...how shocking.I have to sic the dogs on mine to get them up.

ETA...I did that, they got up ate cookies and dessert and went back to bed. Yea...

 

[phorsenuf]

My son has always required more sleep than most kids but I am slightly concerned about his sleep pattern over the past month. DH says he is just going through a growth spurt.

Background: He took two 2 hours naps a day until he was four and than he took one 2 hour nap a day until he was six. He has almost always had an 8PM bedtime and is honestly sound asleep by 8:02PM.

This past summer he stayed up until 8:30 - 9PM most nights but once the time change hit, he started going back to bed at 8PM - his choice.

Here is where the change comes in. DS has always gotten up around 6:30 - 7AM. He might sleep until 8AM once a month at best.

About a month to 6 weeks ago, he started sleeping in almost every single day. I have lost count of how many times he has slept until 10:30AM. His normal wake up time is now somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30. 14 hours on average! Thankfully we homeschool because he would have overslept and missed his classes the last month.

Other than the excessive sleeping, he seems fine. He is eating normal, happy during the day, playing with friends whenever possible and says he feels fine. Everyone at Thanksgiving thought he had grown so tall since last seeing him a few months earlier. He has gotten taller recently but it hasn't been anything out of the ordinary and his voice has gotten much deeper. Could it just be a growth spurt? Isn't 14 hours of sleep a day unusual?

Sooooo....if you didn't homeschool and he went to public school he would have missed classes because he would over sleep? You wouldn't wake him up so he could go?
I think part of the problem is you are letting him sleep in. Wake him up in the morning. Get him used to that. It won't take that long. He needs to adjust his clock. If he really needs to sleep in that's what weekends are for.

 

[LisaR]

Sooooo....if you didn't homeschool and he went to public school he would have missed classes because he would over sleep? You wouldn't wake him up so he could go?
I think part of the problem is you are letting him sleep in. Wake him up in the morning. Get him used to that. It won't take that long. He needs to adjust his clock. If he really needs to sleep in that's what weekends are for.

I am not sure what I would do if he needed to get up for school but since I don't have to worry about that, why bother waking him up? He gets his work done in plenty of time and if his body needs the sleep, I feel I should let him get the sleep. I only added that comment because I figured someone would come along and ask how he was sleeping so late and still making it to school on time. Sorry that you think I am "part of the problem." He just started this pattern 4 to 6 weeks ago. I am not quite ready to think I have a problem on my hands.

 

[erincon23]

I completely agree. My DS 17 would sleep till noon every day if I let him, but I don't. He has to get up at 6 am for school no matter what time he goes to bed, and on the weekends, except on a very rare occasion, I get him up between 9:30 and 10. In fact, I have to go wake him up right now. They don't NEED that much sleep -- if they do, it's a medical problem -- but at 12 and even older, they LIKE to sleep. Wake him up. And don't be apologetic about it. There's too much life to live. It becomes a habit, like any other drug.

Erin

 

[mcco5543]

Hello,
Education/Psychology major here.

Teenagers biologically require more sleep than other people because their brains and bodies are changing at an alarming rate. If this country's education system really was built for kids H.S students wouldn't start until 10am and would go until late afternoon since this late night/late morning is there normal sleep pattern. This has biological basis and if your son is exhibiting no other symptoms of depression I'd attribute it to normal biological response to his teen years. He'll most likely go back to his original sleeping schedule as he gets older. Most of them do.

 

[suejai]

Actually teenagers require 9 hours of sleep at a minimum. Their bodies and brains are developing in leaps and bounds and the sleep is necessary. Most teenagers don't get enough and are chronically sleep deprived. There was a show a while back on PBS called Inside the Teenage Brain that was very informative.

http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/

 

[LisaR]

I completely agree. My DS 17 would sleep till noon every day if I let him, but I don't. He has to get up at 6 am for school no matter what time he goes to bed, and on the weekends, except on a very rare occasion, I get him up between 9:30 and 10. In fact, I have to go wake him up right now. They don't NEED that much sleep -- if they do, it's a medical problem -- but at 12 and even older, they LIKE to sleep. Wake him up. And don't be apologetic about it. There's too much life to live. It becomes a habit, like any other drug.

Erin

Which is exactly what I am trying to determine. No he hasn't been to the doctor yet but I wanted to see if this was normal for kids this age. My older one would sleep in everyday if I let her (and I don't) but even when she sleeps in on the weekend, she only gets about 8 to 9 hours of sleep because she goes to bed so late.

When this started, I assumed he was fighting something off. He does have a ton of allergies and for the past few weeks, he has gotten up with a scratchy throat but that clears up within an hour. He LOVED getting up early. He is into making stop action movies and he used his morning time before school to work on his projects. He actually hates sleeping in this much. He is missing out on his movie making time and it really bugs him. He got himself up early two days last week and both times he ended up going to bed on his own at 7PM the next couple nights!

I get that teens like to sleep in but most teens also like to stay up late. I don't know a single teen that purposely puts themselves to bed at 8PM or earlier.

 

[mrsklamc]

I get that teens like to sleep in but most teens also like to stay up late. I don't know a single teen that purposely puts themselves to bed at 8PM or earlier.

I agree with you, mom. Allergies can wear you out- is he being treated for those?

 

[phorsenuf]

I get that teens like to sleep in but most teens also like to stay up late. I don't know a single teen that purposely puts themselves to bed at 8PM or earlier.

Actually mine does and he is now 17. He's been doing that since he was about your sons age. He's tired so he sleeps. He follows his bodys clues. I do get him up every day at 6 for school. If I didn't he would sleep till noon every single day. I'm not going to have him sleep his days away. He needs to learn to get up in the morning and start his day.
It's all about sleep habits and sleep schedules.
And no, there is nothing medically wrong with him.

 

[LisaR]

I agree with you, mom. Allergies can wear you out- is he being treated for those?

OMG!! I am such an idiot. I can not believe this didn't dawn on me before. My son has taken allergy meds his whole life. But guess what? He just had his medication switched a little over a month ago! It has been working so well for his headaches and runny nose that I didn't even question it. It is an antihistamine so I know it causes drowsiness but his other medication was also an antihistamine and never bothered him. I wonder if this one is just bugging him more?

 

[englishteacha]

Definitely check into the allergy meds. Sometimes they work in mysterious ways. I took Allegra from when I was 16 to 20. I felt great after having years of sinus trouble, but my womanly stuff was agony. I never made the connection between the Allegra and my misery till I stopped taking the Allegra. This medicine you son is taking might be contributing to an already tired guy!

 

[clovergirl5]

Just another idea thrown out there to keep in the back of your head....an underactive thyroid can also cause one to sleep alot. I deal with this and I know immediately once I start napping everyday, thyroid is going bonkers again and meds need to be adjusted.
I agree with teens and their brains and body needing more sleep. The allergy meds are probably the culprit

 

[laurie31]

Teens' circadian rhythms start to change when they enter puberty. There is a lot of research showing that teens need at least 9 1/4 hours of sleep a night.

This is "average" - some people require less, and some require more. My DD13 never gets up before 9, except on Sundays (for church). Since I (her mom) require 9 hours a night, and most adults need 7-8, I can guess that she might have inherited my tendance to also need more sleep than average.

In some places, the school systems have recognized that teens cannot learn so early in the morning; even if they go to bed at 9pm, they are not awake enough to learn in the early morning, and have moved start times to 9:00 or later. I *so* wish our school would do this!!

If teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep to do their best and naturally go to sleep around 11:00 pm, one way to get more sleep is to start school later.

Teens' natural sleep cycle puts them in conflict with school start times. Most high school students need an alarm clock or a parent to wake them on school days. They are like zombies getting ready for school and find it hard to be alert and pay attention in class. Because they are sleep deprived, they are sleepy all day and cannot do their best.

Schools that have set later bell times find that students do not go to bed later, but get one hour more of sleep per school night, which means five hours more per week.

Enrollment and attendance improves and students are more likely to be on time when school starts. Parents and teachers report that teens are more alert in the morning and in better moods; they are less likely to feel depressed or need to visit the nurse or school counselor.

Fortunately your DS, (and my DD) are able to start school once they are awake and ready to learn.

I would think if you are concerned to mention it to his doc, though.

Here are some links that you may find interesting.


http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/teens-and-sleep

http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct01/sleepteen.html

http://library.adoption.com/articles/teens-sleep-and-school.html

 

[Mom21]

My dd has never been much of a sleeper even as an infant. Minimal. All naps stopped by 2 or so. She is now almost 13 (March). Child loves her sleep. She goes to bed around 10:30 and reads, then off to sleep. Some days it is almost 10 when she gets up. I never thought I would see the day!! She is a competitive athlete and works hard, but has always been involved in some type of athletics.

 

[cabanafrau]

It wouldn't hurt to run this by the doc, but I don't think you have a thing to be alarmed about. From what you've stated the new meds might contribute something to this, plus he's probably been going through some fairly strong phase of puberty if his voice has changed lately. Either or both of those could be throwing things off.

To be honest, I wouldn't repeatedly allow one of mine to sleep that much unless there was good cause. I have one who has never been a good sleeper and gets up between four and four thirty a.m. for high school because she likes her routine a certain way & must leave just after six a.m. to board the bus for her morning school. Last year this was accompanied by a dozen dance classes a week. She'd get tired but incredibly 98 percent of the time her butt wasn't dragging. Now that her dance sched is reduced, she does like to take advantage & frequently sleeps in until 9:30/10 on Saturday mornings.

Her younger sister has always been a sleeper. As she's approached puberty she has had phases of needing more sleep, but incredibly she seems like she's getting a bit better at operating on a bit less sleep. Thank goodness -- I've been dreading when she reaches HS and needs to be up at about six. I had visions of bullhorns & airhorns in my future.

Your son sounds like he always slept much more than even my sleeper did. Run it past the doc & he can confirm there's nothing physically wrong & probably give you some good guidelines of what is healthy & optimal as far as a sleep schedule for your son.

 

[XYSRUS]

It's 1:15 pm here and my 12 and 14 yo are still asleep! They get up around 5-5:30am for school M-F. I say let them sleep. It's the only time in life when they get to!

 

[SpecialK]

It's 1:15 pm here and my 12 and 14 yo are still asleep! They get up around 5-5:30am for school M-F. I say let them sleep. It's the only time in life when they get to!

Same here! You're only young once. I see no need to start cracking the whip about getting up.