Help, Sleep issues with 9 year old.

[nukeswife]

Hi all,

 

I know that I've said time and again we're night owls and I'm ok with that. I have no delusions of trying to get myself or my kids up at 7 am or anything like that. I'm having trouble with my oldest though. The kids all go in their rooms at 8pm and may read, watch a DVD or play quietly until 10:30pm. We've never really had a problem until recently. I don't expect them to get up until 9:30 or 10am. Lately my son is having a terrible time falling alseep, which makes getting up by 10 difficult. He tries, he really does. He's obeying the lights out at 10:30 rule but then he'll lay there and toss and turn until 1 or 2 am, this can't be good for him. We've tried making lights out earlier but then he just lays there longer. We also have been making sure he's getting enough exercise so it's not that he sits around like a lump all day. The only thing we've found to help lately is giving him benadryl, and then he'll fall asleep by 12, but still lays awake for 1.5 hours, and I don't want to give him benadryl everyday.

 

Any suggestions, is this something that he should be seen by a doctor for?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[JudoMom]

Is he on any new medicines that might be interfering with his sleep? Could he be watching a DVD that's keeping him awake?

[Mrs Mungo]

I find that each of my kids has a "sleep window" (as we call it) when it's easy for them to fall asleep. If they miss it they sort of get a second wind and have trouble falling asleep. Even though it seems counter-intuitive I would think maybe he needs to go to sleep earlier.

[TraceyS/FL]

I find that each of my kids has a "sleep window" (as we call it) when it's easy for them to fall asleep. If they miss it they sort of get a second wind and have trouble falling asleep. Even though it seems counter-intuitive I would think maybe he needs to go to sleep earlier.

 

We very much found this with child #3 the most. We backed it up 30 min at a time when she was a year old and discovered it was 6pm. Yup, she'd go to bed at 6 and sleep till 6:30. Didn't take much of a nap - but considering she went from being up 3-4 times a night to sleeping all night, well, i'm not complaining.

 

She still at 4 has a narrow window - 6-6:30pm and she will sleep till 7, anything later, it's 10ish and she's up before 6 and cranky.

 

My Mom had a perscription for liquid dramamine for my brother. The kid would not sleep. Ever. (that was 30 years ago btw).

 

Anyway, i'd experiment with bed time - he's at the age where he will be needing/wanting more sleep too.

[littleleadvillelady]

I find that if I watch TV in the evening it really stimulates me and I have a trerrible time falling asleep. I lay there for hours unable to sleep. In fact they have even done studies on how the flickering of the TV affects the brain. Maybe try an experiment where you eliminate TV from what he is allowed to do after a certain time in the evening and limit it to reading or playing games. I did this with myself and was able to return to feeling naturally tired and being able to sleep again.

Amy

[Anne]

Is it possible that he just doesn't need quite so much sleep? One of mine only needed about 8 hours at 9-10 yo. The other one needed about 11, but that's another story!

 

Some people have trouble sleeping if they have too much exercise or screen time in the evenings - also some foods may trigger sleep issues.

 

I would try having him get up earlier in the morning for a few days to see if this improves his ability to go to sleep. He also may just be going through a growth spurt or something. I wouldn't worry too much about it unless (a) it's severely hampering his ability to function during the day, or (b) it goes on for a number of weeks.

 

Some people have reported success using melatonin to help regulate sleeping - I have no experience with it but it might be worth checking into.

 

Anne

[In The Great White North]

Ds has always needed at least 1 - 2 hours to fall asleep. When he was a baby, we called it the "Song and Dance Routine." We had to waltz around his (dark) room and sing to him, then go to just humming, then try to gently lay him in bed while rubbing his back, then get lighter and lighter til we could stop (but not move), then finally sneak out.

 

Later, he would lay in bed and babble to himself for 2 hours before falling asleep.

 

Then he started reading, then he got a computer. He still needs a couple of hours alone to fall alseep.

 

It's not that he doesn't need sleep, he just can't go to sleep easily.

 

Exercise helps (it has to be alot - like 7,000 yards swim practice) a bit but that's about it.

[Robin Hood]

My Mom had a perscription for liquid dramamine for my brother. The kid would not sleep. Ever. (that was 30 years ago btw).

quote]

 

My 9yo is the same. I just returned from a trip that involved going over a windee mountain pass that took a couple hours. I gave the girls dramamine and one was knocked out and Kate proudly annouced, "I am fighting it Mommy, I really want to sleep but I am going to stay awake the whole way!" And she did. :blink: Like usual.

 

I am sorry, but I have no answers for you. I have had no solutions to Kate's small sleep window either. I have considered that part of her education time though. She hates school, so I often give her literature to read: science, history etc...as long as it is interesting to her, she will read it. Since she was in 2.5, we'd give her books to look at and she would shut off her own light when she was ready to sleep. She hated learning how to read, but it was during that time that she taught herself. She came running out of her room one night and said listen to me: "Bla Bla Bla". She would never do for me during learning time. Sooo....I use the time for her to teach herself stuff she refuses to learn during the day.

[Jenny in Atl]

My youngest is a night owl. She can easily stay up till Midnight. She gets up anywhere between 8-10. My oldest also did this when she was younger, but seems to like an early bedtime these days. Also, if there is a real exciting reason to get up early, Fi can be talked in to sleep at an earlier hour. Both my dh and I are also night owls, so I think sometimes it's genetic?

[KS_]

Have you tried melatonin for him? My ds always had a very difficult time falling asleep and then would be grouchy and cranky in the mornings for school. I finally started having him take melatonin at night, which has really helped. He only takes 500mcg (I found a chewable tablet), and that dose still seems to work for him.

[Adrianne]

We are dealing with the same issue here too.

 

So far here is what is working for us:

 

A consistent bedtime/get up time. Dss go to bed around 9pm and are expected to get up around 7am. This works for us, you could insert your own time table.

 

Adding a daily exercise routine. Not just more play but a daily routine like running at least 1 to 2 miles a day. The kids also go outside after dinner and play until bedtime.

 

TV before bed stimulates both of my boys and makes it hard for them to sleep so unless it is a special occasion, like the Olympics, no TV before bedtime.

 

Good luck! Keep us posted as to what works for you.

[nukeswife]

Thanks all, Keep the ideas coming.

 

I don't know if the TV is a trigger for him to keep him up, because it never was in the past. Until recently if that's what he would choose to do before bed he'd be out within an hour of being in his room. Maybe it's just a cycle he's going through.

 

I'll keep you all posted on things we try and what does or doesn't work for us.

[Laura Corin]

Does he get enough exercise? I make sure that my boys get an hour of exercise a day - it's healthy, but it also helps them to wind down and sleep. I aim for them to get really quite red in the face through exercise each day.

 

Calvin is finding it harder to get to sleep these days, but a good amount of exercise will still knock him out.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Storm Bay]

I was a child insomniac. I can still get it. Things I watch out for that keep me awake:

 

too much screen time stimulates me and keeps me awake, regardless of content--it's those flashing lights.

 

not enough water

 

too much salt

 

not enough exercise

 

stimulants--I take NONE ever, not even sudafed, nor anything with rosehips & hibiscus flowers (eg zinger teas.)

 

artifical colours and flavours (note--my 10 yo screams in her sleep if she has corn syrup.), MSG, nitrates

 

What helps:

 

regular bedtime routine

 

regular bedtime

 

regular wake up time

 

getting enough calcium and magnesium

 

Tylenol if I have lots of tense muscles, but I RARELY do that and only if stretching doesn't work

 

No heated or exciting discussions before bed, just calm chit chat if at all

 

Reading something that stimulates my brain. Brain candy just keeps me awake.

 

 

One other thing to consider is hormones. Depending on age, this could be a factor.