<p>I already know the wisdom teeth have to come out of my rising Senior D’s mouth…now to complicate things further, after spending a few weeks on the road visiting colleges (sleeping in the same room, sometimes the same bed) with my DD, I have come to realize she has sleep problems. She’s always needed a lot of sleep, even as a baby…her normal afternoon nap back then sometimes lasted 5 hours, and she’d still sleep at night! Even now she can fall asleep in the middle of the day at the drop of a hat, and thinks nothing of taking a 2-3 hour nap on a school day. But now I know she talks in her sleep, and moves around a lot while asleep. She can’t be getting much re****l sleep (I certainly didn’t, the nights we slept in the same bed). Due to her work schedule this summer, she has not been able to take naps, and she seems to be functioning normally; she normally gets between 7 and 8 hours of sleep at night. Should I enroll her in some kind of sleep study session (my insurance will pay)? Or should I forget it, since she seems to be OK with a normal amount of sleep. Anybody else have the same problem?</p>
<p>Yes, yes, yes! My sleep problem was/is even more severe. I always needed sleep as a baby/child too and my issues really got worse second semester senior year when I had an early release period (and was already admitted to my #1 college ED). I would get 8-10 hours of sleep at night, plus a 2-3 hour nap on a school night. I would sleep up to 16 hours on some Sundays. I’ve been diagnosed with “idiopathic hypersomnia” – excessive sleepiness of unknown origin. I have some symptoms of sleep apnea, but I don’t snore, nor am I overweight, so the likelihood of having that sleep disorder is slim to none. I have orders for a sleep study, but I haven’t had time to schedule one. I received a prescription for Provigil after talking to my PCP and a psych. It helps a lot and it is NOT a stimulant like caffeine or adderall. I can now sleep 6-7 hours and feel fine, although I still like to nap!</p>
<p>Well, I’m no expert, but I did just spend an entire semester taking a class on sleep from an expert… so from what I know…</p>
<p>Your daughter may have a sleep disorder, and you should absolutely have her talk to her doctor before she goes off to college. Moving around during sleep is normal, but tossing and turning constantly is not. Similarly, occasional sleep talking is nothing to worry about, but if it happens frequently it may be a sign of stress during the day, or of another sleep disorder. Since both sleep-talking and moving around typically occur in non-REM sleep, it is possible that she is suffering from REM sleep deprivation. This means that, every 90 minutes or so, when she gets to the point in her sleep cycle where she has to go into REM sleep, she is unable to, and wakes up instead. Even if she has spent the whole night in bed and doesn’t remember waking up, she may not feel rested, and her body will try to make up the “missing” REM sleep later by taking long, deep naps. By her age, she should not be napping more than 20 minutes a day. The funtion of REM sleep is not entirely clear, although it has been shown to be somehow involved in the process of learning and memory.</p>
<p>She should definitely have this checked out before school starts in the fall, and definitely before she goes to college. REM deprivation is treatable, as are many other sleep disorders. Even if she doesn’t have a sleep disorder, her sleeping problems may be a sign of another health problem, which a doctor can help you with.</p>
<p>Sorry if this scares you – obviously I’m no doctor, just a college sophomore. If it reassures you at all… I just had my wisdom teeth out, and it was no big deal. You hear a lot of horror stories, because most people don’t come on message boards and say, “yeah, I had one friend who had dry sockets, but 10 friends who had no problems at all.”</p>