Do healthy children in a deep sleep take more than 10 minutes to wake up?

Question

Hi doctor,

Is it normal or expected for a six-year-old boy, who usually is a deep sleeper, to be very difficult to wake up some mornings? This morning, it took about ten minutes for my son to wake up. Water on the face did not work. He finally woke up when he was carried out of bed and brought to the living room. There were no abnormalities, and he is a very healthy boy.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

There is nothing to worry as you have mentioned. Everything else is normal, and your child is healthy.

Our sleep has two stages - REM (rapid eye movement) and sleep alternating with NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep cycles. NREM sleep has multiple stages, and in stage three, a person goes into the deepest sleep, which is the most relaxing and healing period of rest. This stage covers approximately 25 % of the total sleep duration. So by coincidence, if you try to get someone to wake up during this period of deepest sleep, you may face some difficulty waking them up. First, one must look at the sleeping person at what stage of NREM sleep he is. If he is generally breathing during this period, do not worry.

Take care.

I am happy if I have helped you.