If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.
Up until about age 14 or 15, I tried to enforce what I thought were healthy sleep habits, meaning come home from school or sports, eat dinner, do homework, go to bed at a reasonable hour (by eleven or twelve). But Sam, age 17, was so tired after he got home that sometimes he would fall asleep after dinner, or before dinner. He would wake up at 9:00 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. and stay awake until 1:00 a.m. or later. Then he’d get up at 7:00 a.m. the next day. For a while, I’d wake him up from these evening naps, insisting that he finish his homework and then go to bed at a more reasonable hour. One day, his patience came to an end, and he said it really bothered him that I kept waking him up. He pointed out that he was managing his grades, his activities, his job, and his family chores just fine. He just wanted to do it his way. So I stopped. He continued to be successful at school, in sports, and in his community.
Doing homework following a long nap after school means exercising the brain around the middle of the night, when, theoretically, learning should be less efficient because of circadian rhythms. Additionally, falling asleep after midnight means that the student is likely to be in a sleep–deprived fog at school the next morning. I usually recommend that adolescents not take a nap after school; instead, they should do a little homework, go to bed early, and set the alarm clock early in the morning to finish the homework. I think that studying early in the morning after a good night’s sleep should be more efficient.
When they came home after school, if they were exhausted, I would insist that they take a nap to refresh before starting their homework if at all possible. Usually they fell right asleep and awakened refreshed. This nap was maybe only thirty to forty–five minutes, but it helped.
