Our Sleep Slide

Sometime before noon, my dad would tickle my feet. That was his ultimate way of waking me up when I was an early teen, sleeping in late after being up until past midnight reading and watching TV (yes, reading). No rattling pots and pans. No berating me to get up. No yelling at me. He'd just tickle my feet. Softly.

If that wasn't creepy enough, and highly efficient by the way, he'd say something softly like, "Time to get up, little Kevin." And just like that I'd pop up like burnt toast from a toaster, smoking and angry. 

But again, it worked well. Decades later our own children are now new teens and the sleep slide has only just begun for them. It's fascinating how our bodies develop and change over time. I remember when we put our daughters to bed between 7:30-8:00, and then it slid to 8:00-8:30, and then it slide to 8:30-9:00, and then 9:00-9:30, and now it's sliding past 9:30 PM. And sometimes they're still not going to sleep until after 10 or even 11. Except no TV late for them, but they can read, draw, meditate, etc., to get to sleep. 

They're not sleeping in until noon yet either, although on the weekends our youngest Bryce can sleep until after 9:00 AM. Our oldest Beatrice still doesn't sleep that late, at least not yet. Both their teenage journeys have only just begun. We don't tickle their feet to wake them up, by the way. Or use pots and pans. Or berate them. Just a regular "time to get up" wake up. Many times they tell us when to wake them when they have to get up earlier to do homework or work on a project before school. 

Sleep experts tell us that teens experience a natural shift in circadian rhythm, and this makes it more difficult for them to fall asleep before 11 PM. Teens also need 9 to 9½ hours of sleep per night—that’s an hour or so more than they needed at age 10. This is because teenagers are going through a second developmental stage of cognitive maturation and additional sleep supports their developing brain, as well as physical growth spurts. It also helps protect them from serious consequences like depression or drug use.

Amen to that. Sleep is so important for all people -- kids, teens, and adults. And yet as adults, we don't always get more than 6 hours of sleep on average. My wife Amy and I make it a priority to ensure we're getting 7+ hours of sleep per night, and hitting 7 can be a challenge at times. 

Because what's just as important as all of us getting our proper sleep? Amy and I getting our TV and reading time in. Seriously. The kids' sleep slide is causing us to now slide later and later for our nighty-night time wind down. 

That means our adult TV time and reading time are incremental. Any shows or movies we watch are usually in mini-installments, even staying up later, because sliding fast to the morning floors still comes early for us. Maybe we squeak in 30ish minutes, but most of what we watch are longer shows and movies sometimes, so it takes a few days. Plus, sleep science may tell us not to use our devices before bed, but that's how we read after TV time, even if it's only for a few pages at a time. 

I know, boo hoo for us. Dang kids. At some point there may be the waiting up past curfew due to them blowing past curfew, so for now we're going to make the best of our sleep slide.