Role back their bedtime. It's kind of a life skill. We can't always go to sleep and wake when we want. Very rare is the person who can do that all the time. And it's a safety issue. Tumbling is not something you want them to plow through, sleep deprived and with low blood sugar.
From the varied shift working Mom, who deals with a plethora of wake and sleep times, during the week/month
I'm not sure if it's sender or receiver, but I have to be honest; your post comes off judge-y. I guess I'm lucky that I've managed to get by all these years without said valuable life skill. I've worked a myriad of shifts in my life too, and I have never gone to bed before midnight unless I was sick or recovering from surgery. I am just not someone who can fall asleep early. I am someone who can get by on very little sleep, if needed. Like right now for instance. I am reading replies after driving my husband to the train to save him from a wet bike ride. I went to sleep at 1:30am and drove him at 5:30. I'll survive, but I couldn't go to bed at 10 if I wanted to.
Funny thing is that once I stopped fighting my natural circadian rhythm with my work schedule, I pretty much stopped getting sick. I basically never get sick and haven't in years. It's generally healthier imo to listen to your body. I would say that having a work/life schedule that isn't a good fit for you is something that is absolutely within your control.
As for the girls, my YDD was sleep deprived in public school with a 7am start because we never did figure out how to will her to sleep. Also, I would (conservatively) estimate that about 75% of the teenage gymnasts that we are personally acquainted with tumble while sleep deprived. Teen + gymnast = chronically sleep deprived in our experience. My question just came from wanting my DDs to have an enjoyable day, knowing that they will want to stay all three sessions and cheer for their teammates.
Melatonin supplements help with this (as "jet lag" is one use), and caffeine in the morning. This may be an unpopular response but they are teenagers. That's a parenting decision. I wouldn't want them tumbling on beam etc. without having a rested and then alert brain.
My son had a 6am call time 1 hour away one time when he was 10 and I blacked out his window and with newspapers and started moving his bedtime earlier about four days prior. It was rough but we pulled it off and he got to sleep by 7 or 7:30 on the night.
My YDD already takes melatonin and both girls have blackout curtains. YDD has just always had a lot of trouble sleeping. She wakes up if you even look at her bedroom door! Ha! I asked them about the issue last night after posting and they were both dubious of rolling bedtime earlier than 11:30- on meet weeks (and sometimes random weeks), we don't get home from practice until around 11. Going to bed before 11:30 would be hard unless they sleep in the gym. My DD did joke that it will be a caffeine for everyone type of day!
I would also roll back their schedule. One thing that can help is a light box- used for treating SAD- using it for 30 min when they first get up will help adjust their circadian rhythms. I also found it made me more alert (and cheerful of course, that's what it's for).
I honestly haven't heard of this- going to google. Thanks for the suggestion!
Is going the night before and staying in a close hotel an option? We do this when we have the 7:30-8 am start and the drive is more than an hour. We are not morning people
I considered it, but then I was weighing the lower quality of sleep in a hotel bed against an extra hour of lower quality sleep in a hotel bed. Ha!
and if you are trying to get them to sleep, no screen time for an hour before bedtime, and avoid LED's the blue light causes wakefullness
We do this already, thank you!
