# High Needs = Poor Sleeper = Genius?



## risala (Jan 21, 2006)

Okay, genius is an exaggeration, but I was wondering if anyone has read any research on infants who could be categorized as poor sleepers (frequent wakings, disturbed sleep cycles, etc.) and follow these infants into adulthood. Do they share any common characteristics? Do these active, alert, and often high need babies turn into active, intelligent adults? I remember hearing something about Einstein hardly sleeping as a child, and it got me thinking. I also fully admit to asking this question to make me feel better about the fact that my son still believes that sleep is for the weak.


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## earthcore (Feb 24, 2003)

Well, I didn't outgrow the need for nighttime parenting until I was almost 5, and I got straight As in high school, college and grad school.

My grandma always said, "If they're sleeping, they're not learning."

But I've never read any research on the subject. I'd love to though. My DD also believes that sleep is for the weak.


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## comfybuns (Apr 19, 2006)

I have always thought this. Te highneeds, non sleeping children I know are the smartest i know.
My #1 dd was in this category. She is in the 98% when doing standardized testing. She was reading and doing math in preschool!
My other 2 children are nowhere near where she was and were easy going and good sleepers,....


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## Cheshire (Dec 14, 2004)

Interesting theory and I'd be thrilled if it were true (typed while looking through red, two year sleep deprived eyes).

My sister didn't believe in sleep when she was little and now, in her 40s, it is one of her favorite past times (sp?).


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## Lazyhead (Mar 27, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *earthcore*
My DD also believes that sleep is for the weak.










Everyone says that my DD is very bright and she will never submit to sleep. I, however, am not that bright and am also very tired.


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## ChristaN (Feb 14, 2003)

Another anecdote, but if it makes you feel better







...

My older dd is very bright and she pretty much screamed non-stop as an infant and never slept. I am being totally honest in saying that she was 18 months old before she ever slept for more than 30 minutes straight -- day or night. It was much longer than that before she slept through the night.

The psychologist who assessed dd this past year specializes in working with gifted children and one of the things that she said is common is that gifted children need less sleep than avg. I didn't ask her for studies to back this up, but I assume that she knows what she is talking about. Dd is very uneven in her abilities, so her overall IQ score came out just above the 98th%, but if they eliminated the portions of the test that were timed (she isn't fast), she was in the 99-99.9%


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## BelovedK (Jun 7, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *earthcore*
l.

My grandma always said, "If they're sleeping, they're not learning."


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## lula (Feb 26, 2003)

I am just going to pretend that this is true regardless of what is posted against the theory. That should help me survive with my dd (age 5) who is not and never has been a "good" sleeper or low impact type child. I will blame it on her genius and not genes!


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## ChristaN (Feb 14, 2003)

You can do that, but I am told that brain wiring and intellect are generally in the genes as well, so you don't get off totally scot free. You probably contributed some of those genes







.


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## lula (Feb 26, 2003)

hey, even better if dd turns out to be a genius I can just extrapolate that I must be too...genetic theory at its finest....









Thanks for the idea.


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## georgia (Jan 12, 2003)

If this is true, my oldest is bound for MIT









Hang in there, everyone


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## Tonia80 (Jun 10, 2006)

My Dh was like that as a child, his mother was lucky if he got 4 hours of sleep in a night. He was highly intelligent as a child and tested off the charts. Unfortunatly he did alot of drugs in his teens and messed up his short term memory and such. He still has an incredible ability to retain information and facts and statistics. I think there is a connection. Our eldest son is alot like him and though not a genuis, is gifted in certain areas. (which can be overwhelming to me as a homeschooling mama! I hope I can keep up with him as he grows!)


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## Mommy2Jackson (Dec 5, 2005)

This is very interesting and I am a mama to a very high need baby so I am sure that is why . I really wonder if there has ever been any kind of studies and such done. If anything on my many sleepless nights I will remember this


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## RedWine (Sep 26, 2003)

Hmmmm. Dd1 has always been a poor sleeper. Tosses and turns a lot, etc. She's 3 1/2 and reading. She can also do simple addition and subtraction.

I did not sleep well as a child. I was very imaginative and could not stop thinking about the myriad of monsters that were hiding throughout the house. I went to Harvard. However, I often lack common sense, if you understand what I mean.

My husband slept like a zombie. Still does. He went to MIT and Harvard, and he's a Professor at MIT.

Interesting theory.


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## ChristaN (Feb 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RedWine*
My husband slept like a zombie. Still does. He went to MIT and Harvard, and he's a Professor at MIT.

Well I can at least use that story as reassurance that my younger dd, who has always been a much better sleeper and more "standard" kid, isn't necessarily less intelligent by virtue of the fact that she let me sleep occassionally!


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

I have not heard of many studies. . . . but my dd1 has always been a terrible sleeper and very high needs. She started reading when she was 3 . . . she's now 5 and spelling/reading at the 2nd grade level and is a highly intelligent, curious little girl. And still high needs!







: I have been using Calm Forte on her with good results when she is still up 1-2 hours after bedtime staring at the ceiling, or if I find her singing to herself at 2AM.

OTOH my dd2 is a great sleeper when she's feeling well, and a mellow child for the most part, and she also is a smart cookie.


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## annarosa (Aug 30, 2004)

I have no idea of this is true
but if it is then I will be one happy mamma - despite the grey hairs from endless sleep deprived nights


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## oggiemom (May 21, 2006)

Well, I have to say I have heard this theory a few times. It seemed everytime my DH and I took DS to the docs office and he was screaming his head off and we had slept maybe three hours on a good day- someone on the staff: nurse, doc., etc. would reassure us that it was a sign of intelligence. That the smartest children they had seen over the years were high needs babies. DH and I would always smile at each other and think they are just saying this to us so we would not loose what little of our minds were left.







: - I have to say the irony is now when we take DS in to his new doc she always remarks on what a happy baby he is. Wow, what a difference a few months and some good ole AP makes. Although sleeping is still a hit or miss -teething- his disposition is far better.


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## ChristaN (Feb 14, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *oggiemom*
I have to say the irony is now when we take DS in to his new doc she always remarks on what a happy baby he is. Wow, what a difference a few months and some good ole AP makes.

I would assume that all of the parents here are practicing AP (afterall that's what this board is for). My older dd was still very high needs, still threw amazing tantrums (while I held her and tried to help her control her emotions), still rarely if ever slept, still screamed all night...

High needs baby/screamer/lack of sleep isn't caused by a parenting failure and, in some instances, a few months _isn't_ enough to make it all go away. Babies who mellow out in a few months may be the classic "colic" that everyone insisted dd had -- that is until it lasted for years







! Then it was my fault, or there was something wrong with her. Now all I hear is what a great kid she is.


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## oggiemom (May 21, 2006)

Sorry, hope I didn't offend with my previous post. I know every child is different. I was just excited because I felt that AP had really helped me is all.


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