Learning Points: A good night’s sleep is crucial for teenagers

THERE are so many challenging relationships we have to navigate in our daily lives; our peer group, colleagues and family all demand incredible political acumen to traverse without conflict. But there are other relationships, ones that are more innocuous, subtler and yet drive us crazy at times. And while our relationship with family and friends are, to some extent, within our control, some relationships are not.

One of the most complex and problematic relationships I have in my life is my relationship with sleep. She has been a cruel mistress over the years. The night before my Leaving Certificate she was nowhere to be seen, I vividly remember begging, praying even, for her to arrive, but she did not obey my desperate pleas. I yawned my way through that first exam. In fact, over the years, the more I looked for her the more diaphanous that chief nourisher in life’s feast became. And yet, the night before my wedding I slept like the proverbial log. As I said, it’s complicated.