Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zs

Daughter sleeping in 1996–maybe I shouldn’t have let her twin brother choose this picture!

Despite the fact my daughter looks a lot like me, I’ve become convinced she can’t be related to me—or at least not when it comes to sleeping! Her sleep clinic appointment last week left me with my mouth gaping.

When it comes to sleep difficulties, it seems people either sleep too little or too much—and neither group understands one another.

Growing up I was that kid who didn’t nap and who didn’t fall asleep until late at night—wait, so was she.

Things have changed for her, though. Now she’s that person who can sleep for hours at a time and still nap—and then fall asleep again within minutes of hitting the pillow. And all this while a college student.

I was sitting there listening while she described her sleep schedule to the doctor and thinking that in college I slept about ¼ as much as she does. OK, so I exaggerate—I slept about half as much as she does. Of course, I fell asleep in classes—I got about 5 hours of sleep each week night and probably 7 hours on weekends—why would I expect to feel rested?

On the other hand, she has every reason to expect to feel rested yet doesn’t. Despite what people close to her may think, you can’t force yourself to sleep as much as she’s sleeping. For most, that kind of sleeping is impossible. Even when I had mono, if I napped too long during the day, I’d be unable to fall asleep at night or would wake up in the middle of the night. As her doctor said—her sleep schedule is not normal, especially for a 20-year-old. So, lucky her, she gets to sleep overnight at the clinic some time after her semester exams end.

Here’s hoping the sleep test is one exam my daughter passes—or fails in a way so that the doctor can help her figure out how she can feel more rested and still get up and out to live a little more. New knowledge could show her how it’s not too late to wake up to a brand new day—even if she will always be wise enough to sleep more than I did when I was in college.