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Any ideas?

(50 Posts)
BlueBelle Sun 20-Oct-19 08:05:48

My grandson (18) sleeps like the dead partly due to burning candles at both ends and partly genetic (he has an older half brother who has lost jobs through not being able to get up) He’s in no way lazy he’s a very hard working lad and at the moment he’s ok living at home as his mum gets up at silly o clock to make sure he’s up and running but he’s slept through every alarm he’s ever had even his phone alarm right next to his ear has no effect. Apart from jokey stuff like a bucket of water etc has anyone ever had to deal with this and is there any kind of alarm on the market that you ve come across that would raise these very deep slumberers

Oopsminty Sun 20-Oct-19 08:11:45

Leave him to it. If he loses a job or fails exams it might show him that he needs to go to bed earlier if he's going to function properly in the real world!

Sillygrandma5GK Sun 20-Oct-19 08:24:32

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tanith Sun 20-Oct-19 08:27:55

What Oopsminty said, he needs to grow up.

BlueBelle Sun 20-Oct-19 08:31:29

Ohh that’s not too helpful even when he has an early night he’s sleeps through the alarms I was just hoping someone might have heard of something for heavy sleepers Silly me

Grammaretto Sun 20-Oct-19 08:38:12

One of our DS was like that. I used to joke that when he left school, he slept for 3 years! He could sleep all day.
Eventually he found a girlfriend. I can't imagine how but he went out in the evenings. He found a parttime job in a frozen food factory, seriously, on the night shift.
He left home and went to uni along with the girlfriend.
I thought all teenage boys were like that.
He is now a middle-aged man, who tells us oldies how to do things grin and has young DC of his own. Just wait till they are teenagers!!

Susan56 Sun 20-Oct-19 08:39:23

My husband has the same problem.I have watched him sleep through three alarms and not even stir.
When he was working nights,if I was not around to make sure he was awake,we found the most effective alarm was a radio alarm,the blast of music seemed to get through to him,not the gentlest of awakenings but did the trick.Set it on repeat so if he nods back off he gets another blast.I would still always ring him from wherever I was to make sure he was awake.
It’s genuinely a problem.My mother in law says he has always been a deep sleeper.
Hope this helps Bluebelle.

harrigran Sun 20-Oct-19 09:10:46

My father used to put the old fashioned ( with two bells ) alarm clock in a metal biscuit tin, the amplified din did the trick.
I do not agree with letting the teenager sleep on and miss work, jobs are hard enough to come by.

notnecessarilywiser Sun 20-Oct-19 09:16:13

What about one of the alarm clocks designed for people whose hearing is poor? I know someone who uses one and in spite of his night owl habits and profound deafness, he can be relied upon to be up and about in the morning.

I'm sure there are other outlets, but this is where we bought his www.hearingdirect.com/Loud-Alarm-Clocks/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwi7DtBRCLARIsAGCJWBoDihqDkLU8fOCuUgeZIMJkjyDjoK1Ui20Da6rHds2zxYxWyXPXOc4aArHHEALw_wcB

Fennel Sun 20-Oct-19 09:21:56

I heard that it's quite common for teenage boys to sleep a lot, and deeply. Girls not so much. Something to do with rapid bodily changes, especially physical growth.
We once had a 17 yr old boy boarded with us, and he was the same - husband had to go and pull off his covers in time for him to go to work.
Our own boys weren't like that though, a bit too lively.

Septimia Sun 20-Oct-19 09:30:07

I don't think your GS is unique!

Maybe if he was responsible for getting himself up he would be better. My DS had about 4 jobs one summer holiday, one of which entailed getting up very early and travelling a couple of miles under his own steam (no bus, let alone at that time of the morning). He did it all himself, with no help from us, much to our surprise.

Perhaps your daughter could have a couple of days away so that he has to cope on his own. I wouldn't want him to lose his job, so I'm not suggesting that she leaves him to it for any longer at this stage.

sodapop Sun 20-Oct-19 09:38:41

My grandson is the same now aged 25. Slept through 4 alarm calls last week. Seems to affect boys more than girls I find. Apart from reducing alcohol intake I have no solutu

sodapop Sun 20-Oct-19 10:26:55

Sorry posted too soon. I have no solution BlueBelle Sorry.

BlueBelle Sun 20-Oct-19 10:43:57

Thanks for the the more practical posts he’s a good lad works hard gives his mum generous housekeeping and has never brought any trouble to the door I was wondering if anyone else had found a foolproof alarm clock and some of the replies have given me some ideas The thing is he is responsible he gets all his stuff ready the night before he’s not irresponsible he’s just a heavy heavy deep sleeper
Thanks to those who gave helpful and practical replies I m sure it a common problem might change when he has kids eh

jusnoneed Sun 20-Oct-19 11:06:57

Just googled "heavy sleeper" and came across a guide for best clocks which recommends Sonic alarms. They have them on Amazon.
Some people say having lights come on helps, the bodies natural reaction is to wake up.
It does sound as if he needs to get to sleep earlier and get his body into a better routine.
Good luck!

Grannycool52 Sun 20-Oct-19 15:36:22

BlueBelle, re alarm clocks, Action on Hearing Loss, a large UK charity, has an online shop which sells a range of clocks with extra loud alarms, vibrations and flashing lights.
I bought one that vibrates & sounds very loudly and it has never failed to waken me.
It doesn't matter that he doesn't have hearing loss, it's worth trying one of their clocks.

grannyactivist Sun 20-Oct-19 16:00:26

How about a sonic alarm combined with one of these 'wake up' lights?

yorkshiresteve Mon 21-Oct-19 09:33:22

maybe he could try a fitness band such as a "fitbit" which he attaches to his wrist and it wakes him up by vibrating ?

geekesse Mon 21-Oct-19 10:02:35

My Dad, who worked shifts for many years, put an old-fashioned bell-style alarm clock inside a metal biscuit tin on the other side of the bedroom. It was so loud you could hear it from the street outside the house. Worth a try?

Elijah Mon 21-Oct-19 10:05:17

My youngest son(now 36) sleeps through anything. Over the years tried everything. When he was at uni I used to phone him to make sure he was up for exams (unfortunately he missed a few) he's not lazy we works very hard and although he is late for work most days his work is ok about it cos he doesn't take a lunch break and works until after 7most days. His hours are meant to be 7.30am to 4 pm or 8.30 to 5pm he generally gets to work for about 9am most days. I would love to find something to wake him

jenni123 Mon 21-Oct-19 10:06:34

Many Many years ago I could sleep through the alarm. The thing I found helped me to wake up was the old fashioned wind up alarm with the 2 bells on the top, I would stand that on an upturned baking tin but balance a pile of old pennies on top of the clock, so when it rang, the pennies would drop onto the baking tin with a loud racket, always woke me up.

NotSpaghetti Mon 21-Oct-19 10:19:00

Like grannyactivist I’d suggest a daylight alarm. Then when the “sun” is up, the alarm should wake him.
Good ones are not cheap but maybe worth the investment.

Second hand from eBay?

Witzend Mon 21-Oct-19 10:25:13

They are not so easy to find now, but have they tried an old fashioned, mechanical alarm clock? The ring is WAY louder than that of a phone or other battery/electric alarm.

When I worked for an airline many moons ago and often had to be up at say 3.30 am, I would put my very noisy old clockwork alarm on the other side of the room so I had to get up to turn it off - no just reaching out to turn it off and back to sleep.

jaylucy Mon 21-Oct-19 10:28:51

He's an 18 year old and they can sleep for England!
Unless he stops burning the candle at one end, he'll never be able to get up in the morning!
Many teenagers have a completely different time zone to the rest of us humans - they seem to operate somehow on an antipodean clock so they are awake until the early hours so then sleep in until nearly lunchtime!
If I was his mum, I'd stop the getting up early to wake him up. At the age of 18, he is old enough to realise that if he has to be somewhere(be it work or school) by a certain time, it is his responsibility, no one elses. If he gets into trouble, it is his problem to deal with.
Apart from fitting a timer to all of the electrical items in his room, I can't see any way of him getting to bed at a sensible time!

mazhaggis Mon 21-Oct-19 11:04:08

One of my boys was like that, his alarm would wake me up in the next room and I would go into his room to wake him to put his alarm off. Luckily when he started work he grew out of it, but it can still happen and he is now 32. His wife says he would sleep through anything, but he is now an engineer a and has the same job since he left school.
A radio alarm helped him, he had it set to loud. He also had his phone alarm set to a loud one and had it on vibrate.
It is a teenage thing. When they are at primary school, they are up with the parks but as soon as they hit secondary school, you can't get them up.
Good luck, I hope you find what suits him soon smile