Sleep. It’s a beautiful thing.  Yet it is also a source of frustration for many.  It has recently come to my attention that a few of my children are having trouble sleeping.  I thought it might be situational. Our oldest son is in flight school, training to fly the F-18 Super Hornet.  Over the last few years he has spent a lot of late nights in the simulator or studying so I am not that surprised that his sleep routine has been altered.  However #6 (Grace), who is a freshman in high school, also often has trouble sleeping.  She is a VERY active 14 year-old.  If I was doing what she is doing (in terms of physical activity), I would crash every time my head hit the pillow.  Then #3 (Thomas), when he was home for Christmas, told me he has trouble with sleep as well.  A Division 1 athlete, Thomas has a daily afternoon practice of 2-3 hours and attends morning practice 2-3 days a week around 5 am. So why is he having trouble with sleep? I can’t imagine making it to 10 pm without falling asleep on my feet with the physical schedule Thomas keeps. [Read more…]