How much sleep does your ds11-13 need/get?

[trailofsparks]

I would really appreciate hearing from from you. My ds has always been more average, at best, for energy level. But lately, sheesh! his energy is extremely low. With sports schedules at our house, he's getting to bed around 9:30-10:00 and wakes up around 8:00-8:30 (I've been letting him sleep in as long as he wants, thinking this would help.) I would think 10 hrs is enough!

 

He eats well, takes good supplements, gets some exercise daily. He is a healthy weight for his height. I don't get it. :confused:

 

Do you think, at his age, that a good mattress would matter? I've asked him to sleep in the guest bed, but it's in another part of the house, so he doesn't want to. I don't really think it matters that much at his age, so I haven't pushed it.

 

I know our weather has been crazy - one day humid and hot, the next day cold and rainy.

 

So, how much sleep does your son, who's entering adolescence, need to feel good the next day?

[DawnM]

Well, I have two in your category and they are entirely different.

 

13 year old needs 8 hours IF THAT, he hates sleeping

11 year old needs 10 hours or so, he loves sleeping

[Jean in Newcastle]

13 year old - about 9 hours, some days more.

[elegantlion]

13 1/2: does best on 10 hours at least. During school he'll go to bed at 10-10:30 (stays up with dh) and gets up about 8:30 or 9:00.

[AK_Mom4]

Both my boys needed 10 hours at that age. DD would sleep 10 at night AND take an afternoon nap on her grumpy days.

 

DS19 now gets by fine on 7-8 hours (even less most nights since he is in the military now). DS15 is still growing like crazy and needs 10 hours at night. If he ever slows down the growth spurts, I expect he will be able to do with less sleep too.

[abbeyej]

Ds has been reminding me that at his 11yo check-up, the resident who was shadowing our ped that day told him that "Sleeping for 12 hours at a time every now and then -- maybe once a week -- is a great idea at this age" -- even for a kid who's usually sleeping 9-10 hours each night. I can't think of a time in recent history when ds has slept for 12 hours straight, but I'm keeping it in the back of my mind just in case I *do* seem him doing that from time to time so I don't freak out. ;)

 

FWIW, ds had mono last fall and it was really *obviously* different from normal tiredness. Even the "normal" of a preadolescent whose body is growing and changing quickly. ... Just saying I think it's reasonable to be concerned when a child's level of exhaustion is really different from his or her normal, but that it's often *obvious* when there's a real problem (beyond just growing).

[Cinder]

My 13yo is at his best with 10 hours of sleep. He often doesn't get that much because my 16yo only needs about 7-8 hours of sleep and the younger one tries to match this so as not to "miss out" on anything. ;)

[Tohru]

10 hours on weeknights.

I let him sleep in on weekends, so about 12 hrs twice a week.

[Melissa in Australia]

It really depends if they are in the middle of a growth spurt or not.

My oldest now 17 , when he was between 11-13 grew over an inch every month. he stopped just before turning 13 at 6'3". he was exhausted, no sleep was enough.

 

My now 15 ds grew at a much slower rate, and hasn't been anywhere near as tied.

[Rorofishes]

9hrs from Monday to Friday

12 hrs on weekends

[Lucy in Australia]

My 12 year old is at his best with 10 hours sleep, but copes very well with 9. I'm monitoring him a bit more closely now, though, because his older brother, at roughly this age, suddenly went through a phase where he needed quite a lot of extra sleep and VERY MUCH food (oh, my poor food budget :eek:) and then shot up by about 5 centimetres in a matter of weeks. This happened several times. Your son's body may be preparing for a growth spurt.

 

And yes, in my opinion, a good mattress is very important at this age, mainly due to the fact that they grow so much and their spines need good support.

[trailofsparks]

Thank you for your responses! It is good for me to see that 10-11 hrs of sleep is normal, even a good number of you said 12 hrs. We'll have to think about a new mattress for ds. Last night and tonight he's been sleeping on the floor of his room :tongue_smilie: Maybe he'll get better sleep there until he gets a new mattress! LOL