Are teens supposed to be this tired?

[jen1458]

My son turns 14 tomorrow and is tired ALL THE TIME. He's definitely in his growth spurt, because two months ago he was 1" shorter than me and now he's 1" taller than me, and he will be over 6' tall. Is this just the demands of a fast growing body and brain? He doesn't seem depressed, just tired. He's never been a hyper active kid, but he wakes up tired despite getting 9 hours of sleep, and comes home from school tired. He takes vitamins, including B vitamins, but sometimes I have to remind him.

 

[bernard05]

@jen1458 When I think of being a teenager, I remember being bone-tired and hungry all the time. My dad worked early so we all had to go to bed at nine for as long as I lived at home, and we got up at six so I was getting a lot of sleep but I was just always exhausted.

My own daughter is really good about prioritizing sleep, but she's always tired. On the weekends, she'll sleep until way past noon if she doesn't set an alarm.

I keep reading that teenagers need as much sleep as toddlers and I believe it.

 

[elephas]

@jen1458 It depends on how busy he is, his quality of sleep, how stressed he is, and his body. Teens have a lot of changes, physically and mentally, that can make them tired. On top of that, lots of teens are busy with school/sports/clubs/work/etc. Would it be possible to give him a weekend to sleep as much as he wants to + do whatever he wants to to see if it’s a sleep deprivation/stress problem v something more?

 

[jerrygg38]

@jen1458 Not to alarm you or anything, but my parents were similarly confused and as it turned out I had fucking narcolepsy, which was only realized because I also have cataplexy and was eating shit on pavement, down stairs, in the kitchen, at football practice due to sudden loss of muscle control.

You can look up symptoms of narcolepsy and go see a sleep doc to get his REM looked at to make sure, but 99% chance it’s not this so don’t lose sleep no pun intended.

 

[sadpaanda]

@jerrygg38 I feel it's important to note for our non-native English speakers that "eating shit" in this context is slang for falling.

 

[jerrygg38]

@sadpaanda Haha this made me laugh out loud. Good call

 

[julien]

@sadpaanda Thank you for this. I am laughing so hard thinking about what someone who doesn’t know this idiom would think while reading this. The horror.

 

[michaelo]

@jen1458 What does the pediatrician say?

Teens being tired — sure. Especially when they are growing — yes!

But “waking up after 9 hours of sleep & still tired” — I would want to rule out sleep apnea, other sleep disorders, and medical problems.

 

[jen1458]

@michaelo He has regular medical care for something else and all his tests are normal.

 

[michaelo]

@jen1458 That’s good. I am not trying to be oppositional but where we live …

My kids would not be screened for sleep apnea or sleep disorders, on routine well-visits or a check-up for other chronic condition, as it’s just not that common. But in my opinion, even tired teens should “wake up refreshed” after 9 hours of sleep. Tired by noon, as they are growing and busy, sure…it also could be a weird viral thing, or growing thing, but I would personally not let it go on for months & months, before getting a sleep study.