The Lights Are On But No One is Home

My 6 1/2 year old still takes naps once or twice a week.  When he is tired but doesnt get a nap, it sometimes seems like he is just oppositional/defiant, which is normal I guess, but other times it seems like he isnt cognitively right.  This can happen both before his nap, when one is needed but not taken, or in the 15 minutes or so after he wakes up.  Recently, he has started peeing in a drawer if he has to go during one of his crazy times.  I truly dont think this is to be bad or act out -- rather, I think this happens during the times when the lights are on, but no one is home.  We have been punishing him for it, but I'm not sure its really his fault.  

He gets 9.5 hours of sleep every night, with 1-2 naps per week of 2+ hours.  The wife thinks he needs black-out shades so he can sleep an extra half hour.  We'll try that, certainly, but its not like his room gets crazy light as it is -- he just wakes up at 6 to 6:30 if there is the slightest noise, as my wife and I are often up at that time.  We would not need to wake him until 7:15, but he just never sleeps that long.  

He had sleep apnea prior to his T&A being removed 2+ years ago, but his breathing sounds normal now.  Prior to the T&A, the "lights on, no one home" phenomona was very common and clear.  Until recently, I had hoped it was gone forever.

Could this be a medical issue, or does the boy just need more sleep somehow?  

[AnnieBrooke]

Try the blackout curtains.  Not the amount of sleep, but the quality of the sleep someone gets, can be affected by light.  He might be getting poor quality sleep once the daylight comes, or if light comes into his room at night.  Also, does sleepwalking run in the family?  The peeing-in-the-drawer thing makes me think of that.