How long would you let a 12 year old boy sleep before becoming concerned

[formflier]

I recently got back from a trip and as you can tell from my other post..the monkeys flew around last night.

Well...yesterday S12 was "out of it"..."space cadet", could't really follow any sort of direction.

Last evening I got unhurried time to chat with him and said "hey...you don't see like yourself today...what's up?"

I asked a few different ways and he said he was great..awesome day..etc etc.

So...I said he obviously needed a good nights sleep and we'd talk tomorrow.  He went to sleep a bit before 10pm. 

I don't believe he was up and about last night..unfortunately I was awake several times and never saw any evidence of him being awake.

around 1130 this morning I heard him start to stir in his room.  Where I'm sitting in living room..I have clear view/earshot.

Then it got quiet.  I went and peeked in his room and he had gotten out of bed and was laying on pillows on his floor...asleep again.  He had been normally in his bed.

It's now 1:30, it appears to me he has been sleeping since just before 10pm last night so we are going on 15 hours...

?

Best,

FF

[Gemsforeyes]

Hey FF-

Please gently wake him up.  Check his blood sugar if you’re able to do that. 

If you can get some food into him, I’d make sure it’s some kind of protein-oriented food, like a couple of hard boiled eggs, almond butter..no “white” food - bread, white rice, potatoes.  That’s simple carbs and turns into sugar too fast.  If he’s really really sluggish and out of it, call his pediatrician and ask NOW.

You can “chase” the eggs with a good piece of dark chocolate.  I’m NOT kidding.

I suffer from blood sugar issues that began at age 9.  It didn’t begin in a good way.

Please report back!

Warmly,
Gems

[Fian]

More than 12 would be very suspicious.  Wouldn't hurt to take him to a doctor.

[formflier]

He is up...I'm about to put some protein in him

He believes it's 10am.

I suspect that while I was gone he was staying up all hours and his wake/sleep is/was reversed.

But...not done with this yet...want to get protein in him and then sort more stuff out.

We have (had) devices to limit nighttime internet but I haven't checked them in a while...

Sigh...

Best,

FF

[Gemsforeyes]

Hey FF-

Not trying to be alarmist... sorry.  Re your boy’s blood sugar -

Just keep a close eye.  Also went through this with a close friend’s child.  Watch and see if he starts to urinate more frequently or if he seems more thirsty than normal.  Or if he seems to develop any flu-like symptoms.  And if he becomes irritable.  All of this in addition to his tiredness.

Warmly,
Gems

[Notwendy]

While of course, making sure he's healthy is a priority-

I think teens in the middle of a growth spurt will eat and sleep more.

If he's healthy- my first guess is that he was up at night. If he has a phone, or computer or access to video games he may have gone to sleep at 3 am.

Or, more concerning:  If this is persistent behavior and not due to using electronics at night, or teen growth spurt,  I would consider possible substance use or experimentation. A change in a teen's behavior is concerning. The other concern could be depression.

Hopefully the reason is that he's playing video games on his phone and computer for most of the night. It's then an easy fix to take them away at bedtime.

[Fian]

Other options are mono, chicken pox, etc.

[AskingWhy]

Growing pre-teens need a lot of sleep, but you may be also concerned about depression.  Is he playing with video games or social media at night? 

If your W is BPD, it is certain your S is aware of it on some level.  I agree the boy may need medical attention. 

[formflier]

He seems back to 100%.

I think it is close to time for a physical for him anyway, so I do want to get some things "ruled out" or "checked" like blood sugar.

But..my best guess is that for the week I was gone, he was up all hours of the night and sleeping during the day.

Best,

FF