Re: sleeping to much?

[Guest guest]

Kelsey is only 3, so maybe she has more energy due to her young age. Our

problem is that she isn't sleeping enough! She wakes up 4-5 times every

night and rarely takes naps. It seems like I am up with her at night more

now than I was when she was an infant. Something else I plan to talk to the

doctor about, hopefully tomorrow. She does lay down sometimes during the day

and watches a video or we read books, etc... just something quiet.

[Guest guest]

Robbin40@... wrote:

>

> hi yall

> just a question maybe one of yall have had experience with this

> melissa gets up in the mornings but after about a hour or 2

> she feels tired and goes back to sleep for up to 3 or 4 hours

> Robbin

Hi Robbin,

This isn't a problem for us when is doing well but if he's having

increased arthritis activity, he tends to sleep lots more than what

seems normal. Some days I'll wake him, he eats breakfast and takes his

meds, and then right away wants to lay back down to go to sleep. Our

average waking time is about 6:30am. We usually leave here at 7:30am. If

he's in the midst of a flare, and not at school, he will sleep until I

wake him for lunch. He normally goes to sleep at 9pm. so that would be

about 14 hours of sleep! On the more normal days he will often get home

from school, do his homework assignments, and then take a nap for an

hour or so.

During his flares, he's normally having the high fevers. That can make

you more sleepy. And he's often anemic, which can contribute to the

tiredness, too (despite taking iron supplements.) Plus, for whatever

reason, after he has his methotrexate he gets extremely tired. He'll go

to sleep right after the dose is given, wake in the evening for a meal

and to shower, and when the next morning comes along he still feels very

fatigued!

When I heard that there were fewer side effects with the injectable MTX

I was really excited, thinking he wouldn't be so tired afterwards,

anymore. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for us. That side effect is

still just as bad, or maybe slightly worse, since Josh has been getting

the shots So, I really don't know how to explain it but I think some

kids with JRA just tend to need more rest than kids without. My

daughter, meanwhile, has so much energy. She's non-stop from morning

till evening! I remember once reading something to Josh which said that

most of children's growth occurs while they are sleeping. I even worried

that he might just be trying to sleep more, so he could start growing

again. But his body just needs more rest, and we've adjusted to it.

Anyway, I was just reading this article on teens and sleep patterns.

Maybe you'll find it interesting, too.

Take care,

Georgina

Why ny Can't Stay Awake: Teens' sleep cycles often clash with school

hours

http://www.healthscout.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Af.woa?ap=1 & id=96759

SATURDAY, June 3 (HealthSCOUT) -- Parents of groggy, grumpy teen-agers

often say their kids live in a different world. Actually, it's just a

different time zone, according to new sleep research. Adolescents'

internal body clocks run on different schedules than those of adults,

researchers say, and teens' lives would be easier -- and even safer --

if adults understood the differences.

" We have to recognize this is a significant problem for teen-agers, "

says Dr. Ed Gibson, lead researcher of a new study on the sleep patterns

of Canadian secondary school students, and president of the sleep/Wake

Disorders Canada organization. The study found that nearly one-fifth of

the 2,200 students surveyed were excessively sleepy during the day. The

sleepy students averaged less than eight hours of sleep a night, while

research indicates teens need nine. Sizable numbers of teens also

reported drowsiness dragging down their grades, school attendance and

social lives.

A major reason for those significant sleep problems is that adolescent

body clocks " shift forward " a few hours at puberty, Gibson says, making

teens sleepy at the night-owl hours of 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., and awake at 9

a.m. to 10 a.m. (Other less-common reasons, he says, include sleepiness

as a symptom of depression, undiagnosed sleep disorders, and poor

sleeping habits.) Gibson's work builds on recent American studies,

particularly by Brown University researcher Carskadon. Gibson hopes

his results will amplify a message that American researchers have

vocalized for years -- alter school hours and social functions to fit in

better with the teen-age body.

There's been a growing push in the United States to delay secondary

school starting times from their early-bird average of around 7:30 a.m.

to an hour later. Some U.S. schools have already heeded the call. But

others say delaying the start time would cause too many logistical

problems with transportation, extracurricular activities, and union

contracts. " There is lots of interest, and there's been lots of

discussion, " says Ray Lemley, deputy executive director of the National

Association of Secondary School Principals, although he's not sure how

many schools have experimented with the later starting times.

School district sees benefits

An early convert was the Edina school district in Minnesota, which

switched high school start times from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. in 1996

after the Minnesota Medical Association sent a letter to all state

schools recommending the change. Edina has since fielded inquiries from

more than 200 school districts nationwide about its program, says

spokeswoman Teuting . " It seems like a common-sense thing

for all the people who raise adolescents. Everyone says, it's hard to

get them out of bed. It's kind of nice to find out there may be a reason

other than laziness or staying up late, " she Says.

A 1998 University of Minnesota study that included Edina reported that

students in schools with later start times are getting significantly

more sleep than their peers -- about 45 minutes more a night -- and

getting that sleep at a critical point in their sleep cycle. And more

than half the teachers surveyed found students were more alert early in

the day, with " fewer heads down on desks. " The study also showed that

students with the later school start times reported receiving better

grades than a control group. But the study warned that several unrelated

factors could be contributing to the higher grades. , the Edina

spokeswoman, says teachers there believe students are performing better

in school with the later start times, but the district hasn't done

studies to prove it.

Gibson urges schools to look at not just starting school later, but

saving the knottiest subjects for a time when kids are awake enough to

handle them. That makes sense to Pamela Eakes, who watched her

then-15-year-old son struggle to get up for a 7:15 a.m. advanced math

class in the suburbs of Seattle four years ago. But Eakes, president of

Mothers Against Violence in America, has a far more compelling reason

for her organization's recent effort to encourage secondary schools

nationwide to delay starting times.

Other benefits cited

Beyond the apparent health benefits, Eakes says, starting school later

also means ending school later in the day, eliminating some of the

unsupervised afternoon hours when teens frequently get into trouble with

drugs, sex, or violence.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is concerned about another

potentially dangerous byproduct of tired teens: drowsy driving. A few

months ago, the academy began distributing an educational program titled

" Crash in Bed Instead, " meant to teach teen-agers about the differences

in their body clocks and steps to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. The

program, aimed at driver's education and health classes, " talks about

why and how we sleep, sleep debt, the dangers of sleepiness, and then

some solutions, " says Deb Fisher, the academy's educational director.

" It goes into trying to explain to teen-agers how much sleep they need,

and why they need it, and that they just can't make it up on the

weekends. "

While Gibson applauds moves to increase the awareness of teen sleep

patterns, he believes more work remains to be done. He's particularly

concerned that some sleepy teens may be suffering from undiagnosed sleep

disorders. Six percent of the students in his study reported possible

symptoms of sleep disorders, including insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep

apnea. In clinical practices that treat adults with sleep disorders, " We

find a lot of people who say, 'My problems really started when I was a

teen-ager, and I wish I'd known then. School was difficult, or I dropped

out, or people just thought I was lazy,' " Gibson says.

What To Do

If your teen suffers from sleep problems, start with a visit to his or

her doctor. For more information on sleep problems, try

http://www.aasmnet.org or http://www.sleepfoundation.org

[Guest guest]

melissa was very active at 3 so was my son who is 22 now

does kelsey hurt when she gets up? or is it that she just needs the comfort

of you

to go back to sleep? melissa use to wake and come get in bed with me

but i found that if i layed something i wore by her and put a pillow mimicing

me

she stayed sleeping most of the night

Robbin

[Guest guest]

Robbin,

Most of the time Kelsey wakes up whimpering or crying and when my husband or

I go sit with her for a minute or two she goes back to sleep. Sometimes,

though, she will wake up down in her bed, off of her pillow, and her hands

are so stiff and sore that she needs help getting comfortable. Usually she

is only awake for a few minutes, sometimes just to go to the bathroom. We

also use a pillow beside Kelsey to help prevent her from rolling out of bed!

lol

I think her new therapists will work out just fine once she gets used to

them. We got a brochure on the clinic and they also have a website that I

checked out. It will be nice to be able to have all her therapy in one

place. As it is now, we have physical therapy in the " gym " at the hospital

and her pool therapy at an athletic club which is owned by the hospital.

(Carilion) This place has a few locations around the area, but the one we

will be going to is just a few blocks from our pediatrician.

Have a great weekend,

[Guest guest]

Macey sleep schedule goes something like 9-9:30 pm to whenever someone wakes

her. That can be 9 or 10 am. If she's woken up at 7:30 to get ready for

school she's pretty much a stiff zombie who begs to go back to sleep in the

van on the way to school. She has been anemic for almost 2 yrs now and is

on prescriptive iron. she has a problem with her iron stores. I think they

called it microcytic anemia. her hemoglobin fluctuates between 11 and 12,

but its been as low as 9. her mcv and mchc are her problems. plus abnormal

TIBC and ferritin levels. The anemia makes her tired alot. She is still a

big napper too, 2-3 hr naps on the weekends and now during the summer when

she's home.

Ursula Holleman

Macey and 's mom

http://home.att.net/~maceyh

[Guest guest]

Lynn,

Actually my husband works different shifts, too! He works mostly daylight

hours, but for the months of June and July he has gone to nights. I never

really thought of that... glad you mentioned it!

[Guest guest]

Hi Robbin:

Mickey (6 with systemic) behaves like that when her inflammation is high. It seems to just tire her out, her body fighting itself like that. A flare, whatever, she is extra tired. With Mickey, she gets fevers, too. Maybe you should get her in to the doc again in case her meds need to be adjusted upwards.

Lynn

sleeping to much?

hi yall just a question maybe one of yall have had experience with this melissa gets up in the mornings but after about a hour or 2she feels tired and goes back to sleep for up to 3 or 4 hours Robbin------------------------------------------------------------------------Never lose a file again. Protect yourself from accidental deletes,overwrites, and viruses with @Backup. Try @Backup it's easy, it's safe, and it's FREE! Click here to receive 300 MyPoints just for trying @Backup.1/4936/2/_/524922/_/960471657/------------------------------------------------------------------------For links to websites with JRA info visit: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/8414/Links.html

[Guest guest]

Hi :

This is just a thought your comment about all the waking. A friend of mine went through almost 2 years of night wakings like you described, the docs tried everything they could think of - lots of tests... well to make a long story short, in the end, it was related to her father's shift work. She was anxious about it and woke often to check that someone was there for her. Once her dad started sitting down before he left and explaining that her mom would be there for her, and could call him if needed, the little girl started sleeping through the night. So simple! Sometimes we look too hard for complicated solutions. Maybe it doesn't apply, but you never know.

Lynn

Re: sleeping to much?

Kelsey is only 3, so maybe she has more energy due to her young age. Our problem is that she isn't sleeping enough! She wakes up 4-5 times every night and rarely takes naps. It seems like I am up with her at night more now than I was when she was an infant. Something else I plan to talk to the doctor about, hopefully tomorrow. She does lay down sometimes during the day and watches a video or we read books, etc... just something quiet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------Find out your allergy risks online!Get a $10 discount at eNutrition just for trying it.And a chance to win a desert Spa Getaway.Click Here:1/4575/2/_/524922/_/960495635/------------------------------------------------------------------------For links to websites with JRA info visit: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/8414/Links.html

[Guest guest]

Lynn

yes i think i will call the doctor this week i am trying to clean out my

garage

and melissa and me have been doing alittle a day but she tires easy

and i end up telling her to just go inside and rest

or just sit and watch me

This time last year she was so get up and go never sitting and on the skates

all day and most of the night this year has changed alot

melissa is 13 years

Robbin

[Guest guest]

Lynn

your right a change in the family will do it also

Robbin