Similar sleepers for now!
I am one to stay up late and sleep in…of course one can’t always sleep in so one is just a little tired. I have two 16-year-old Japanese students staying with me for a few weeks and their pattern is similar to mine!! On the first day they arrived they asked me about the ‘rules of the house’ and manners was my main thing. I am pretty easy going.
I am wishing I said bed making…but not worth the fuss now! I didn’t say a bed time and the other night it was after midnight and I heard what I thought was crying and I knocked on the door to find it was laughter!! I think the girls were expecting me to say it is time for bed. I just said: “I thought you were crying”…ohh.. “all good then” and I went to bed!! The girls were very tired the next day. The following night they went to bed a little earlier. However, the next night a late one again. We all slept in that morning and I ran around waking everyone! It was quite amusing seeing others looking how I do most mornings when my few hours of sleep have been interrupted!!!
I thought to myself I probably should encourage bed a bit earlier, but then I thought they will work it out. After all it must be fun being in a different country and with a friend in a room up the hall. I mean if I was taking them for driving lessons each day well sure yes a priority, but I can be a little flexible.
This afternoon I saw signs of sleepy Japanese girls! They asked me what was planned for the weekend and I said Saturday was a rest day and they smiled and sighed with relief! The girls have been attending school every day and the activities have been fairly intense. It is 10.20pm and they both just went into their separate rooms…and I reminded them of our sleep-in….ahhh break-through!!
Of course the language barrier does make things a little hard too. When my 7-year-old daughter has a friend stay over I am not as casual!
Doc says
Shaz – you should feel good that you have similar sleep patterns to that of a teenager 🙂
I think that whatever country you are in all parents of teenagers notice dramatic changes that occur with puberty – the growth spurts, the mood changes, and also, the unlimited ability to sleep in on weekends. But fortunately, albeit hard to accept, this altered sleep pattern is not the teenageers having attitude, being lazy or anti-social – no, instead, it is their changing biology, lurking deep inside their complex brains.
As you know, how much you sleep depends on your age. Newborn babies will sleep, in a series of short naps, perhaps for 16-18 hours per day. by time they are 5yo, this is down to about 11 hours, and continues to drop with age – until puberty and adolescence start. Then sleeping time increases again!!!!!
Adolescence is that very scary and awkward time between kidhood and adulthood. The natural circadian rhythm is severly traumatised and interfered with during adolescence. First, there is a streesful delay in the onset of sleep, probably due to the later release of melatonin. So when a teenager claims that they are not tired at 11 pm, they are usually telling the truth! They also need more sleep at this age – proabably 9 to 10 hours!!! By the time they are 21 they should return to normal adult sleep patterns of early sleep time and shorter hours – can I assume you are not yet 21 Shaz???
I also, with much trepidation, would like to point out the following: Failing to make your bed in the morning may actually help keep you healthy, according to scientific reasearch. It has been found that while an unmade bed may look scruffy it is also very unappealing to house dust mites thought to cause asthma and other allergies. A Kingston University study discovered the bugs cannot survive in the warm, dry conditions found in an unmade bed.
So there you go – cut those teenage girls some slack! 🙂 have a delightful weekend and I look forward to your next post