Is There a Minimum Number of Hours for sleeping?

[milwscout580 10]

I was wondering if there was a minimum number of hours that should be offered as sleep time. I thought I heard that at least 8 hours should be offered, (I think my Program Director said that, but he sometimes makes things up.) I skimmed the Guide to Safe Scouting, but nothing caught my eye. I was just wondering, becaue we have a campout this weekend, and the current schedule only allows for 7, but the schedule can easily be changed, becaus ethe activity right before bedtime is "free time."

[Gunny2862 11]

I don't know about the regulations/guidelines from BSA but I'd want more sleep on a HA outing, i.e. Rock Climbing, Whitewater activity, than I'd want on an active outing, i.e. Canoing flat water, Light Hiking, or than I'd need to stroll through the Established National park trail head with a virtually paved pathway on a relatively short nature walk.

 

What I'm saying is figure out what your Scouts need then try for a half hour or hour more than that.

 

For general sleep developing youth, I'm told, need about 9 hours regularly.

 

Shorting them on an outing isn't ideal but should be more a safety concern than a developmental one for our weekend purposes. For me I know we are okay if they are still running around the parking lot waiting for Mom and Dad to pick them up after the end of the weekends activities.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

I have heard this topic brought up before. Something like by BSA policy you had to have X hours for sleeping. (X = the number of hours the person bring the issue wants to sleep).

 

I have not seen anything like that in any BSA literature. If it did exist, what would happen to at least one OA ceremony? Could it still exist? I have seen Council events that are billed as 24 hours of fun, and indeed, events run for 24 hours or more continously.

 

It would seem prudent that adequate sleep be worked in any schedule for any activity but that it would be variable accordign to activity and participants.

[local1400 10]

If you've ever worked at a Scout camp, you know the answer is 4.

[Lisabob 13]

I haven't seen a written policy on this but I do know that a lot of younger teens& pre-teens don't operate well on 6 or 7 hours of sleep. So you might want to consider what the general mood is like on Saturday late afternoon and Sunday morning, at a typical campout for your troop. If you are seeing a lot of temper flare ups, squabbles, and melt downs (esp. among your younger scouts), it might be the case that you need to give the guys more time to sleep.

[Beavah 205]

 

Love your answer, Local1400. Ain't that da truth?!

 

No, there's no official policy. Yeh don't need an official policy to allow you to be a reasonable, responsible adult leader.

 

Do what's right and safe and works for your kids. If yeh want my advice, sleep is a good thing for kids. Go for the 8 hours (which will really only get yeh 6-7 after they're done talkin' with their tentmates and playin' cards under the covers).

 

Beavah

 

[Troop185 44]

This is one of my pet peeves (the other is Trading Posts)with Boy Scout Camps and activities like Camporee. Their schedule is always lights out at 11:00 p.m., up at 7:00 a.m., unless you are a cook, than you have to get up earlier. They always have a adult schedule - 8 hours. Scouts need 9 - 10 hours of sleep.

 

Several years back, our troop went to a 10:00 p.m. curfew. If the adults want to stay up and talk quietly around the fire, they can. But everyone else (including me) is in bed.

 

On high adventure, the mosquitoes usually drive everyone into their tents at dusk. We always get 9 - 11 hours of sleep. I have had several adults tell me, the only time they get any sleep, is when they go on a scout camping trip!

 

 

[milwscout580 10]

Ok, thanks.

 

I didn't know if there was an official policy, my Program Director often sait a lot of stuff that wasn't necessarily true. These are OA members, around 16-19 years old, so they usually don't get that much sleep anyway... (I'm 18, I know... )

 

I do work at a Scout camp, but apparently I don't get the joke... could you explain, please?

[local1400 10]

milwscout580, I worked four summers at my council camp in the late 80s. We were "off duty" for a 24 hour period each weekend. I remember only eating, laundry, and sleeping for that period. When at camp, we were up at 6 am and often not asleep until almost midnight. Kitchen crews got about 4 or 5 hours per night. No joke, just lots of hard work to make the program run.

[milwscout580 10]

OK, that's kind of what I thought you meant. I didn't know if you were talking staff or campers...

 

Late nights are definitely the norm at my camp... there's just no way around it. During Resident camp and weekend camp, we visit sites after the campfire and cracker barrel, so that starts as late as 11:00. Then we spend at least 20 minutes per site, and each group of staff visits 2 or 3 sites, depending on whether sites are still up and about. During day camp, most people have off around 7:30, but a few people (mostly the directors, and sometimes regular staff comes to help out) stay up until at least 10:00 or 11:00 doing stuff, whether it be getting ready for the next day, trying to organize the reservation office--the main cleaning project this year--or organize the check-in and medical forms. So they don't get much sleep...

 

 

Sorry, I made my own topic go a little off-topic