do gifted kids ever have normal sleep patterns?

both Rite and Mite have difficulty falling asleep. both will stay up until nearly midnight, in their respective rooms, listening to books on tape and laying in their beds with books about them.

Once asleep they sleep through the night, but getting them there is an issue.

We would like Mite to sleep earlier to see if that addresses some of his attention issues, but we can't find a way to make it happen. He's always up at about 6-630 without our prompting and without an alarm clock.

suggests?

Willa,
Maybe your sons need more intellectual stimulation. That was the recommendation from our pediatrician when our son was 5. We put him in an all-day self study academy. He was falling asleep early within a week.

Also, I have read several places that gifted kids often need less sleep than others. I really amazed by a 15 yo boy that doesn�t love to sleep. My now 10yo would sleep all day on Saturdays if we let him.

I've also read the gifted kids often need less sleep. My DS7 doesn't sleep as much as the "theory" says he should. I've gradually come to terms with the idea that if he can get up in the morning without a lot of hassle and he isn't dragging around the house at dinner time, he must be getting enough sleep. We have developed an in your room and quiet by 8:30 or 9:00 policy because he needs to be up at 6:45 am for school. As long as he can get up easily, I don't hassle him about how long he reads at night. He's often still turning pages at 10:30 or 11:00.

But... if Mite's not getting enough sleep, then you need something different. I learned some relaxation techniques years ago that I use when I am having trouble sleeping. I use something called progressive relaxation. I found a good description of it, along with some other ideas at
http://www.umm.edu/sleep/relax_tech.html
I also do the guided imagery when I can't sleep.

Jill

that was a good resource on sleep, thanks. Mite enjoys doing the relaxation.

Has anyone here read anything about the Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome? I am very wary of loading up on diagnoses, but when I read this I really felt it described both my sleep patterns and my son's. http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/delayed.html