Here's A Horrifying Picture Of What Sleep Loss Will Do To You

[laundry_queen]

51. I agree, that's a pet peeve of mine as well

I've always needed tons of sleep. My mom said I slept 12 hours through the night from the time I was 3 months old until I was a preteen. Even then I still needed 10 hours a night until my late teens. I remember being called lazy often by my dad, who thought everyone should be up by 5 am. As a teen, if I was still sleeping at 9 or 10 am on the weekends, he would wake me up, or be deliberately loud so I couldn't sleep. My parents still call me lazy because I catch up on sleep on the weekends. (during the week I'm lucky to get 6 hours, due to getting up early with my kids, being a single parent and in school etc). However, when my mom falls asleep in front of the tv at 7pm on Friday, that's not lazy, that's "I've worked hard all week".

My ex-h is one who doesn't need much sleep. And that's something he passed down to 3 of our 4 kids. My oldest was the worst. I remember, as a newborn, she would only sleep in 30-45 minute increments. I thought I was going to go insane from lack of sleep. Everyone lectured me about how newborns always sleep 12-14 hours, even if it's just in small bits. So I added it all up. 8 hours, and just barely. My newborn needed less sleep than I did And even today she only sleeps about 5-6 hours a night, at 16 years old. She says if she gets more than that, she feels crabby and has a headache. My other kids are better, and one of them is just like I am. When she started school, she would come home and CRASH if she went to bed past 8 the night before. She often napped on the weekends too, in addition to sleeping 12 hours. She's now almost 11 and on the weekends - I let her sleep. She often sleeps till noon. She's just like how I was. And I don't call her lazy, because she's not. She just needs more sleep.

I remember a study that showed a huge difference between high schools that started at 8 am vs 9 am. The schools that started at 9am always had less absenteeism and higher grades on average. I believe it...I've only had one 8 am class since I've started university and it was one of my lowest marks. I had to get up before 5 to get all my kids ready and off to their different caregivers and by the time I made it to school - a long commute - I was already exhausted. ugh. Thankfully our final was in the afternoon, and I aced it to pull my mark up. I avoid 8 am classes at all costs.