Welcome to Gaia! ::

Staying up late. I know we've all done it at least once or twice.

I'm different. I'm what people would call a night owl, Yet my behavior differs so much as I don't sleep at all! Is it ok for me to only sleep 3 nights a week? Its not that I just don't want to, trust me, I've tried to sleep before, and gave that up. I eventually just wear myself out and fall alseep every other night. I feel fine during the day, for a little bit of the evening, i'm tired, but as soon as its dark, I get a reknewed feeling of being refreshed and awake.

Average Hours of Sleep a day for the last month: 3
Last time I slept: Monday night for about 6 hours. Went to bed at 1 AM, woke up at 7AM. I've been up ever since.

This isn't the first time that i've had sleep flee from me, I'm used to it. My parents want me to get more sleep... I'm an active 16 year old guy with an insanely high matabolism. I'm about 6ft 2in tall and weigh about 165. Sugar and caffine have no effect on me, never have, never will, So theres no way thats it. I can drink none for a month and it won't change a thing.

I think I'm gunna go out on a limb and use my intuition to say that someone is gunna suggest that i should talk to a doctor.

Actually, Niko, different people react to puberty in different ways. Some need insane amounts of sleep (I still sleep 10-12 hours a night) and others need very little. While it can be unhealthy, I'd say it's much more unhealthy to force him into a rhythm that isn't his own (especially if doing so involves medication that is potentially habit forming).

It's interesting to note that the world record for going the longest time without sleep is currently held by a 16 year old male. He lasted something like a month without sleep and without any negative effects. Others will start hallucinating after only a day or two.

Just as long as he is going through all the stages of sleep and isn't suffering from something like sleep apnia, I'd say he's fine and this is just a part of growing up.

That being said, it's never a bad idea to bring stuff like this up to your doctor on your yearly or bi-yearly visit.

Sleeping medication is extremely habit forming. You should explain to your father that this worries you. Talk to him and agree, maybe, to see a doctor and make sure that everything is physically ok.

Remember, most sleeping problems are external. Medication will cure the symptom, but not the disease. There are quite a few things you can do that don't involve drugs to help you sleep better.

- Identify sources of stress in your life and work on making them less stressful. One big thing for young people is time. They often complain that there isn't enough time for everything and suffer a great deal because of it. A lot of this has to do with time management. Instead of watching TV, get ahead on a report that isn't due for another two weeks. Things like this will drastically reduce stress.

- Remove clutter. Ever hear the expression "cluttered room, cluttered mind"? Make sure your room is clean and ordered. Also, don't paint your walls "active" colors, like red or yellow. You should also avoid light draining colors like black or dark blues/purples.

-Relax before going to bed. Too many people will do something social or active, and then expect to be able to fall asleep. Just setting aside half an hour or so to read a book before turning out the light can really help.

-Set up a schedule. Pick a bedtime and stick to it. Remember, your body's natural cycle can only adjust about an hour a day, so don't expect immediate results.

-Resolve conflicts before going to bed. If you had a fight with a friend that day, call her up and apologize before going to bed. You don't want bedtime to be stressful in any way.

-Other relaxing techniques can help. For example, a cup of warm milk (see if this work. Some people feel uncomfortable drinking warm milk and then lying down) or a massage before going to bed can really help. I doubt you have a spouse yet, but when you do, setting up a ritual of mutual massage before going to bed can really help.

Taking medication should always be your LAST option. This is especially true with sleeping pills. Good luck!

No problem biggrin I have chronic insomnia (caused by stress) and a close friend has sleep apnia. I've done a little research mrgreen