Would you do anything about this? Or let her figure it out on her own?

[klwa]

I’d just let it be. Maybe this is her easy class so she does let herself doze a bit. Maybe the class is really boring. Maybe it’s at a point in the day where energy is low? Maybe the room is extra warm and cozy? She is doing fine academically (grade wise) so I’d let it be. Is it ideal? No. But, I bet a lot of us can think back on classes we sometimes snoozed in.


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A lot of this was what I was thinking. Is the class at a time that just leans more sleepy (just after lunch when her body is digesting, etc.)? Or is the classroom warm? Because those will both knock me out as an adult!

[gatorsmom]

I think at this point I would let everything continue as it is but I would discourage increased caffeine consumption, and make sure that when she does go to bed that she's trying to do as much 'sleep hygiene' as possible to make the most of that time (no phone in bed, etc.)


^^^ This - like is she sleepy b/c of when it just falls in her cicadian rhythms, or b/c she just had a sugary or high carb meal, or it's boring/warm. I def had classes in college I struggled staying awake in for a host of reasons not really sleep related. It's not a bad idea to learn how to hide it, she's lucky this teacher is understanding, but not all of them would be.

Ok, this could definitely be part of the problem. But I guess I just want to be sure she isn’t setting herself up for some problem later in life that I can’t see now. And I’ll remind her to stay off the caffeine if possible.

[Liziz]

Sleep is *so* important to our bodies and minds. I don't have the time right now to pull studies but there's tons of studies supporting that fact. The reality of life, however, is that sometimes sleep gets pushed to a backburner because of other things going on.

My DC are younger, but are getting to an age when activities can create late nights, etc. What we try to emphasize and teach is good sleep habits overall, with the recognition that late nights/missed sleep here and there will happen, and it's not worth stressing over -- just aim for better sleep in the future. Kind of like food -- don't stress about individual days of cruddy eating, but aim for a balanced healthy diet overall.

If all is going well in her life overall, I don't think a few months of less-than-ideal sleep is the end of the world. I *do* consider it a problem if creates unhealthy long-term habits (like massive caffeine consumption, taking sleep supplements b/c sleep schedule is always wonky, believing that 4 hours of sleep is "fine" and overscheduling life continuously, etc.). I also think it's important for people to get to know their bodies and how their bodies react with less sleep -- there's a lot of people out there feeling cruddy without realizing that more sleep might solve some of their issues! For example, I know that I get sore throats when I'm running on too little sleep. It's a particular feeling different from being sick, and when I notice it, it's a reminder to me that I'm not giving my body enough sleep and to work on getting back on track.

From what you've said it sounds like your DD is doing great overall, and there's a (minor) end in sight with the BSA project coming to a close soon. I wouldn't worry about the next few weeks, but I would be having conversations with her about what healthy sleep habits look like and the importance of sleep long term, especially for growing bodies/minds!

[MSWR0319]

I would check with her to see why she's falling asleep. Is it because she's overcommitted and not getting enough sleep? Or is it because of the environment or time of day? I had one class in college, where it was SO hard for me to stay awake. The professor's first words on the first day of class were "People always fall asleep in my class, and if I see you sleeping you will drop a grade letter." It was an 8:30am class, but I'd never fallen asleep in class before or even come close. I always had 8am classes. Well, by week 2 it was all I had to keep my eyelids open. The man was SO boring, the classroom had the worst dim lit lighting, and I literally couldn't function. I can't believe I didn't get caught because I know my eyelids were SUPER heavy. I wasn't tired, it was just the environment.

I would also encourage her when it's getting late to get to bed on time with gentle reminders if she's not doing homework. DS tries to go to bed by 10, but the last few days he's had a lot of homework and more activities so it's been closer to 11. He's had swim meets the last 6 weekends so he's not getting to sleep in to catch up, so I have to keep him on a schedule to get to bed as early as possible or his body will just go into exhaustion.

[JustMe]

I would ask her if she wants to work on this. I would try not to worry about this. Not every problem can be proactively solved...some things either just change with our lives and become less of an issue or people work on them when they need to. My high school senior ds has developed some awful sleep habits (going to bed soooo late and some related behaviors) this term. This is going to be a problem for him in college (not just late bedtime but wont go into all the details). He is tired, but doing what he needs to do and does not seem to want to change it. I am leaving it be for now and I am guessing it is something he will have to figure out for himself sooner rather than later..at least that is my stance.

[AnnieW625]

Dd knows she needs more sleep. She mentioned the report card comment before I did. Like yours, she struggles to go to sleep before 11am. She doesn’t get up until 7am and then races out the door, brushing her hair and putting on makeup in the car (her brother drives them to school each morning). But I think this kid could really use more than 8 hours of sleep each night like me.

She is a Sophomore in high school. When we talked about it, her solution was to drink more caffeine. Getting enough sleep is a problem in our house.

Ugh get rid of the caffeine. Caffeine is a no go in our house after 6 pm. I know it is easier said than done.


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[MSWR0319]

Ugh get rid of the caffeine. Caffeine is a no go in our house after 6 pm. I know it is easier said than done.


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I agree with Annie. I didn't pickup originally that you said her solution was more caffeine. That is a bad habit I would discourage and try to help find other solutions.

[firstbaby]

I would try to workshop with my kid what adjustments could be made for two reasons:

If she is a driver or will be driving soon, driving while sleep deprived is super dangerous

It’s human nature to feel like if we can just get to (date, milestone, etc) then things will calm down. Something else always seems to come up. I personally feel like while it is up to your daughter what to do, having an adult help them brainstorm and advocate for a little white space and time to recharge is important

[daisyd]

I would try to workshop with my kid what adjustments could be made for two reasons:

If she is a driver or will be driving soon, driving while sleep deprived is super dangerous

It’s human nature to feel like if we can just get to (date, milestone, etc) then things will calm down. Something else always seems to come up. I personally feel like while it is up to your daughter what to do, having an adult help them brainstorm and advocate for a little white space and time to recharge is important

I agree with this. She sounds like a remarkable kid. I worry about burning out and health impacts without enough rest.

[georgiegirl]

It sounds like she’s over committed. It’s likely to get worse junior and senior year. My DD has struggled with over committing herself, and it’s a constant battle because she insists on doing the best job ever on every single assignment. Young people need to learn how to say “no” and how to effectively manage their time (and commitments.) they also need to learn how to carve out time for self care. The scary thing is that it’s these perfectionist kids (often girls) who struggle with perfectionism and overcommitting themselves and then have major anxiety when things don’t go well (because it’s impossible to to an amazing job at everything), and sometimes it doesn’t end well (like how a bunch of young female collegiate athletes at top schools died by suicide.) We’ve had a lot of tears here, and I’m trying to make DD understand she needs to do less in order to maintain sanity and a healthy balance in her life.


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