My son 17 yrs sleeps a lot

Dear Patient: Sleeping patterns differ with age. Whereas newborns sleep for up to 18 hours a day, it gets reduced to a mere 5-6 hours for the elderly. You seem to be worried as your son sleeps a lot. If he sleeps for 8-9 hours a day , it is normal for his age group. Excessive sleeping for many hours could be due to more tiery work and working for longer durations. It could be also because of irregular sleep habits. Also, sleep is more if a person is depressed. Other signs of depression can be looked for I.e., being in isolation, not caring self, sitting alone. Consult a general physician first to diagnose the problem.

This question has been answered by

Dr.Gupta

Fetal Medicine Specialist