Elena N. (1) (SEI) about Going to Bed and Getting Up

In the evenings, I feel a surge of energy and the desire to do something—parents need to know that. They need to understand that mood and physical well-being are strongly influenced by whether a child gets enough sleep, and even by how they wake up.

If I get up abruptly—forget it, I’m completely out of it. In the morning, my alarm goes off every minute. It rings, and I turn to one side; then I lie on the other side for a bit and fall back asleep. The alarm rings again, I lie on my back a bit, it rings again—and then I get up.

My mood and productivity really depend on how well I’ve slept, how much I’ve lingered in bed, stretched. If I get up at nine in the morning, I’ll feel fine even if I went to bed at six. But if I went to bed at nine in the evening and got up at six, having slept three times longer—I’ll still feel awful.