I attend a brain injury support group. Last February, we had a brain injury rehab specialist who emphasized the need for quality sleep but no excessive sleep or snoozing. When the brain goes through all of the stages of sleep, one stage is slow wave sleep. It is only during slow wave sleep that the brain can detoxify. It does this when the neurons and axons shut down and shrink in volume by 40%. These creates a space for the glymph system to open up and let the toxins flow away from the neurons and out of the brain. The glymph system is the brain's version of a lymph system. It was only discovered in 2012.

Proper sleep stages only happen when the brain's sleep mechanism functions properly. There can be a catch 22. Fatigue creates a sense of tiredness but not sleepiness. They are different. Tiredness is a body function. Sleepiness is a brain function. Sleeping for tiredness disrupts the sleep cycle so proper quality sleep is difficult to achieve. Tiredness can also be a blood sugar issue.

So, as I said, she should be getting up at a normal time and having a proper breakfast. Engage in moderate effort, low stress activities. If she becomes sleepy where her eyes become heavy and it is no later than early afternoon, she can take a short nap, 10 to 15 minutes maximum should resolve her need without disrupting her sleep cycle that she needs for proper over-night sleep. If she feels tired, a brisk walk should resolve it. She should not nap at all in the afternoon or evening. It will disrupt her overnight sleep.

If she is getting quality sleep, 10 hours per day maximum will be all she needs. She should not be going to bed because it is bed time unless she feels sleepy and can fall asleep within 5 to 10 minutes.

The sleep needs of a child will be more than those of an adult so don't let people tell you a sleep protocol based on children and youth.

The goal is two things. Activity during the day that causes good blood flow through the brain and quality sleep at night so the brain detoxifies.

Hand oriented activities, knitting, painting, sewing, solitaire with a deck of cards, etc, can be great as they keep the body active but do not put cognitive load on the brain.