sleep

[Guest Katrina_54]

hi

ever since I started dance this year, I have been dead tired. I get about 7 hours of sleep a night, but it feels like I only have got like 20 minutes. I go to sleep really easy, and don't wake up during the night. I was just wondering if it was something to do with dance. Anybody else have this problem?? I'm sorry if this is not a dance-related topic, but I never had this problem before dance started:(

 

thanks,

Katrina

[Mel Johnson]

It's health-related, and anything related to health relates to dance.

 

Sleep is, of course, very important to maintaining good health, and a lack of restedness after sleep can often be a symptom of an underlying problem. When one experiences this phenomenon, it's a good time to set up an appointment with the family doctor to see if anything is wrong. Many diseases have fatigue as a symptom, mononucleosis being only one of them!

 

Of course, on the other hand, adolescence is a time when a lot of physical and mental changes go on, and the fatigue can be absolutely diseaseless!

 

Bottom line - check with your family physician.

[Guest Katrina_54]

thanks for answering my question, I'll go to the doctor ASAP...and I really hope that I don't have a serious disease

[LauraT]

You actually might want to try and get more sleep. My doctor told me teenagers should get 8 - 9 hours of sleep a night. I always try to get to bed by 9:00, as I have to get up at 6 am.

[Mel Johnson]

Yes, that's always a possible answer, but it really should come from a health professional after a direct examination. Some teens require only 6 hours of sleep.:eek: Some need 10 and more hours.:eek::eek: Adolescence is a funny time of life.

[Guest dancergal]

I don't think I get nearly as much sleep as I should each night... but that's because I'm at dance until maybe 7:00 and I have to stay up and do my homework. But when I'm done I fall asleep really fast. Is your problem that you can't fall asleep at night, or is it because you have to stay up late to do homework and stuff?

[Guest Katrina_54]

hey

I'm still going to go see a doctor, but I think part of my problem is that usual time I go to bed is no earlier than 11:00 pm. I have been doing that EVERY single night since well the summer. So maybe I should try and get to bed earlier. But some nights that is impossible, because I have dance until 10:15, takes me 1/2 hour to get home, and by the time I get home, get ready for bed and stuff, its 11:00, then I always read for about 15 minutes, than go to sleep. I usually get up at around 6:45, but don't get out of bed until 7:30. I never used to get to bed that late, it just turned into a routine over the summer.

[Mel Johnson]

That may be your entire answer, Katrina, but you're smart to continue toward the doctor.

[Guest tigger_fan_ann]

I strongly believe in what Mr. Mel Johnson said. I sleep past 12 midnoght and wake up at 5:45 am everyday. I really don't get that tired. Although I have one question. Do I have insomia if I really can't get myself to sleep earlier that 12 and wake up later than 7? Sometimes, I even wake up in the middle of the night and I really find it hard to sleep again.

[Mel Johnson]

If your normal sleep cycle doesn't leave you fatigued, then you may very well be getting the proper amount of sleep for you right now.

 

Wakefulness out of a sound sleep and an inability to go back to sleep isn't that uncommon. If it becomes a frequent feature of your sleep cycle, then I might think about a trip to the doctor, if I were you. But not for just a now-and-then thing!

[Guest Katrina_54]

hey!

I went to the doctor, and she said I have nothing to worry about. She is pretty sure I am just really tired because at my age, I need more sleep. She said that the amount of sleep I was getting in the summer was probably fine, but now since I'm back at school, and dance and stuff, I need more sleep. I am definately going to try and get more sleep:)

 

katrina

[Mel Johnson]

That's great, Katrina!

 

Making contact with your doctor is always to be recommended when you experience a change in anything that makes you uncomfortable or worrisome. You've done the right thing here.