Do teenagers like to sleep a lot?

Question

My 15 year old daughter has just come to live with me. She lived with her Dad from age 10 to 15.

Now that I am with her more on a day to day basis, I see that she sleeps a lot. She comes home from school and wants to take a nap.

In my mind, she should first finish all of her schoolwork, take a shower and then watch TV and sleep for the night. I used to tell her, but I now leave her alone.

Is this normal behavior for teenagers? Do they tend to procrastinate doing their homework and sleep for some time?

Answer 1

Perfectly normal.

Teenagers are weird creatures. Their inner clocks seem to be backwards. They want to be up all night and sleep all day.

Make sure she goes to bed at a decent time and if she wants to sleep when she gets home let her. As long as her school work is getting done then let her sleep as long as she wants.

Answer 2

It is normal for teenagers to like to sleep a lot, in fact, I think that they really need sleep during those teen years. They have a lot going on, in between being a dependent child to being an independent adult....they are now growing rapidly, emotionally and physically.
I also think that high schools should have different school hours. I feel that teenagers could and would do much better scholastically if school did not start until 11:00 a.m. or 12:00 pm.
This give the kids a chance to get a good night sleep and start their day off in a better frame of mind. They want to stay up late anyhow, and then they could without the stress of having only a few hours of sleep.
Don't worry about her sleeping a lot unless you notice that there could be some depression attached...that is when the worry should begin....and what they should do and what they generally do are two different things....it is a hard time for all.

Answer 3

Teenagers need 9-10 hours of sleep, which in this country, most teenagers fail to get that amount of hours. Too much to get done, not enough time to do all those things so the only option is to lose sleep in the night.

It's normal to sleep when she gets home. After sitting for how many hours and a long day, she is mentally and physically exhausted.

Teenagers do procrastinate. Alot. For teenagers, sitting down and doing that homework or report early isn't the most exciting thing considering their busy lives and short attention span. The procrastination leads to the last-minute-panic, which more than enough gives them motivation. Although not a constructive motivation and can thus too lead to sleep loss.

Answer 4

Some teens need lots of sleep. I know I did and I never drank or did drugs. Some weekends I would sleep unitl the afternoon. I did have untreated allergies and a mild case of anemia. Now with claritin and multivitamins I get by on 9 hours and can't nap even if I want to.

She should see the doctor to rule out any health concerns and make sure she is eating enough healthy food at school. And remember she may look like almost an adult but she is still growing, brain and skeleton. Emotionally she is still growing too.

Answer 5

Sleeping is pretty much heaven for me, and I'm going on 15. I love sleeping, lol! All my friends (15-17) sleep a lot too. It definatley is a teenager thing. I heard somewhere teenagers are supposed to get 9-10 hours of sleep a day. But I only manage to get 4 hours sleep at night, so I pretty much LOVE naps.

Answer 6

studies have shown that teenagers actually need like 10-12 hrs of sleep a night. If they are not getting it continually, then the naps are probably necessary for her. I remember I used to do that. It seems that I slept all the time when I wasn't on the phone talking to friends.

If you are concerned for her health talk to her doctor about it. If she seems depressed then you need to talk to her and see what is going on. she may be getting depressed, she might miss her dad, do you have an open relationship where the two of you can talk? Maybe take her out for a mother daughter day. Go get your nails done, catch a movie, take her shopping or something that you can enjoy together.
Good Luck!

Answer 7

It's probably normal for her, but you may want to check with her father to make sure that this is the same pattern she had while with him. My 18 year old still does it, her doctor tells me that some people just need more sleep than others.

However depression causes people to sleep a lot also so you need to make sure that this behavior is normal for her and not the result of depression or an illness like mononucleosis.

My daughter is just getting over mononucleosis and unfortunately it wasn't diagnosed until she was VERY sick because the normal symptons of tiredness were overlooked by my daughter because she sleeps a lot anyway and it wasn't until she had worse symptoms that we went to the doctor and had the blood work.

Good luck to you and God Bless.

Answer 8

Man those were the days :) Sleep was my favorite hobby when i was a teenager! The thing with me tho was I was a complete night owl. I would be up til 1-2am and then sleep til 1-2pm (when i was in college mostly). Do you know if she is staying up late at night? Another possibility could be perhaps she has sleep apnea and is not getting enough rest at night due to wakeful sleeping? If you feel like she is being affected by being tired ie. falling asleep in class etc. you can take her to a sleep center to be checked. Apnea is no joke...it can cause serious heart problems. I dont want to scare you, but if you feel her sleeping is excessive and unnatural, even though teenagers do snooze quite a bit...take her to a sleep speciailst. Ask her though, at least at 15 she can communicate to you that she doesnt feel like she is getting a restful night sleep.
Good luck!

Answer 9

Our brains are still developing. So it uses a lot of energy, making us hungry and tired. If we over work ourselves it just adds to the mix. So try getting on a schedule.. School, go home do homework w short breaks, ext. Another possibility is you could have trained yourself to need more sleep. This happens by taking naps frequently, and going to bed when your not tired. It can also work the other way around. You can train your body to need less sleep. Waking up at two has become a habit for you. Try not to look at your phone or clock when you wake up, lights stimulate ur brain maligning it harder to fall back asleep. My advice to you would be: make sure your getting the proper nutrition, and taking vitamins daily, get into a schedule, and only sleep in bed. Don't do homework on it, eat on it, watch tv on it, it confuses your body with where your supposed to relax.. It's hard to explain google it if you need more info on that. Also, eat breakfast, it can help a lot !!

Answer 10

All normal. Being a teenager takes a tremendous amount of engergy, in the growing, in the developing, in the socializing.

I'm a firm believer in the afternoon nap, as are most successful people I know.

Also, please understand that teenagers by nature are late riseers, despite the silliness of school schedules which tend to mess them up. They really don't come alive until late at night. What you're attempting to do is force a square peg into a round hole. Lighten up.

Answer 11

yes, im 17 and i love to sleep. School just drives me crazy. When ever i get home i try not to go to sleep because i know that i have things to get done but i still WANT to take a nap.

But i was premature so i slept the first 3 months of my life so my mama thinks its just me. But i dont know i could sleep the rest of my life if my parents would let me.