Teens have gone 100% nocturnal!

[Rowawa]

Post Christmas. Cars broke. Skint. Nothing to do. Absolutely pissing it down every day so can't even go for walks.

They're literally going to sleep at 5am for the day after being up all night.

I keep waking them up and they just go back to bed/fall asleep on the couch. Ages 15, 17, 18.

Theyre going to be buggered come Monday.

I can't say much as I remember doing the same in my teen days but I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

Ds14 hasn’t been too bad. But ds18 has been off work for about 3 weeks and has totally turned nocturnal. He did stay in last night knowing he was at work today but no idea what time he was able to sleep given his body clock is completely upside down.

He was up at around 5.30 am. He came home, went to bed. Woke him for dinner, now back to sleep till tomorrow.

Your daughter might have a circadian rhythm disorder called delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPS) which is very different to kids just getting nocturnal because of getting into the habit of gaming overnight. I also have autism and have the sleep disorder.

Has she seen a sleep specialist?

Never mind teens I’ve gone nocturnal! Going back to school and work is going to kill me!

I remember doing it as a teenager in the nineties, even with no WiFi/internet I still went nocturnal when I didn’t really have anything on.

I call it Keeping Vampire Hours.

Mine are the same. Today was the last day though as they need to start getting back into it.

Same here! Although I've basically ended up 2.30/3am until 11/11.30. 15 yo 2/3am and in bed till early afternoon. 20to seems to have outgrown it and is in bed 11.30/12 and up around 10/11. Dreading tomorrow and the return to school 🙈

All mine have been nocturnal. Teen DD went back today and has been fine. The boys are going to really struggle next week. Routines went tits up over the holiday. I'm usually big on routines but we just couldn't be arsed.

My 16yo does this but I just let him get on with it. Very normal for teens to be nocturnal. He's back at college on Thursday so will sort himself out.

My 11yo was up til midnight on New Year's Eve and been sleeping late. I'm gradually waking her a bit earlier every morning so she'll be ready for school next Monday.

I'm so glad it's not just my two! My DC are 12 and 15 and these Christmas holidays I've been lucky to see them up before 2pm.

I used to be like this. My parents used to nag be so much that I was being lazy when I was far more productive getting up late and going to bed late. When I did my dissertation I would go to the library after my tea and then come home when the sun came up and go to bed. Leave them be.

I would never have been allowed to do that as a teenager, surely that can't be normal?

Op I do think it’s the weather! It’s been so bad here. Every time we go to do something it pours down again!! Apparently it’s supposed to be getting better later on in the week so we shall see!! I feel your pain though. My 13yp would game all night if he could!

I'm still like it and in my 50's! 😁

and no, mine are not bone idle, just on a different time to judgy people like you

Dd(20) was never like this, usually asleep by 11, but ds(15) has turned nocturnal. He was making toast at 2.30am this morning, I still getting drinks from the kitchen at 4.30am. His phone locks at 10pm and he has no games consoles in his room so it's just his tv/netflix. I've struggled to get him up before 3pm over the holidays. School tomorrow is going to be hard (but no tv allowed on school nights, but he will no doubt be awake drawing/reading/etc)

Fwiw my sister was also nocturnal as a teen and still is now but that has worked in her favour as she does shift work inc nights. I could never hack that personally.

19 year old DD’s sleep schedule is currently 5am-2pm… need routine back asap!!!

Both my boys were like this.

Ds1 used it to his advantage in his job where he sometimes does night shifts.

I think teens do naturally have a different circadian rhythm. Wasn't there vague chat about how, for optimum performance, secondary schools should actually start at 11 and finish at 5 or something once? Obviously it got no traction because that doesn't suit working parents, and life in general but I'm sure the sleep patterns/nocturnal nature of teens was the rationale.

I have a 16 and an 18. Deffo been nocturnal over Christmas - averaging 4-5am bedtime and 2pm getting up times - but this week I've started waking them at 10am and they're quite up for trying to get back into better patterns. Harder with the 18 who doesn't have to back in Uni until 29th but luckily her p/t job have got her on some early shifts...

A very steep learning curve coming your way… if the worst he does is make nuggets at 4am you’ll be lucky!

Why would you? What harm does it do? Mine cook up full omelettes at 4am or tuna pasta bakes, I often wake up wondering wtaf the smell is! You def need to chill a bit

Because @Pinkwallsandfloors, we live in a bungalow and the noise would wake me up. (Also, and I'm very aware others will think I've got a stick up my arse for this bit, they wouldn't be allowed nuggets just before bed, very bad nutritionally. Once they've left home, they can obvo do what they like, but I'd like to think that wouldn't happen under my roof. But, like all things parenting, I've discovered you can't judge till you're there yourself).

Why do people always say this sort of thing when plenty of us have teenagers (and were teenagers) who aren't like this at all?

@LuckyVoila The point is that if DD felt the need to make nuggets at 4am (which she doesn’t, the worst we get is the occasional 1am pot noodle) it wouldn’t bother me. If she wants to be up at all hours eating rubbish then that’s her issue, not mine. Doesn’t affect me in the slightest so no point having a disagreement over it, I can’t see why it’s such a big issue to some people. At 19 she’s an adult and can make her own decisions

Lol! You re the only one doing the judging, i just think that spending the best years of your life gaming and sleeping during the day, along with the MH issues it brings, is sad and hardly great for anyone.