Any tips on a child with (middle-of-the-night) insomnia? (Update in #14)

[pehp]

Our son sleeps well through the night a few nights a week. But for about 6 months or so (maybe more), he has been waking up in the middle of the night (generally to pee) several nights a week and then cannot get back to sleep.  I sometimes crawl into bed with him; sometimes this helps, but last night it did not (I fell asleep and he woke me up every half hour to tell me he wasn't asleep  :lol: ).  I wouldn't care so much about this except that lack of sleep can trigger severe migraines for him, so I'm sort of paranoid about his sleep.

 

We use a Dohm white noise machine.

 

We keep a light in the next room on, b/c last year when we kept it mostly dark (but w/ a night light), he would wake up thinking he had "seen" something.  Once we kept the hallway more lit, he didn't have that problem anymore.  So I'm reluctant to get rid of the light--it doesn't shine directly on him, but rather lights the hallway.  (We used to leave the hallway light on--but that was really too bright!)

 

I suffered from some of this as a child, and can't remember how it resolved itself.

 

Does anyone have any tips or thoughts on this sort of middle-of-the-night wakefulness?  He just came out of his room and said "I was awake when you left this morning!" Which means he hasn't been asleep since about 4 am.

 

FWIW, he goes to bed/sleep around 9:30pm, and he's 8.5 years old.  When he doesn't suffer from insomnia, he sleeps from 9:30pm-8ish a.m.

Edited March 20, 2017 by pehp

[amo_mea_filiis.]

Does he snore?

[sheryl]

i don't even read the "story" when it comes to the topic title about sleep/insomnia.  in short, pediatric neurologist.

[Spryte]

Does he have asthma, by any chance? DS had this problem till asthma doc heard about it. Reflux at night was triggering asthma. Not enough to be clearly asthma, but enough to keep him up. 8 weeks of reflux mess fixed it.

[redsquirrel]

i don't even read the "story" when it comes to the topic title about sleep/insomnia.  in short, pediatric neurologist.

 

why?

[pehp]

i don't even read the "story" when it comes to the topic title about sleep/insomnia. in short, pediatric neurologist.

Can you expand upon this? I am curious as to why the automatic response. I had pediatric insomnia but no neurological issues. If there is something major or red flag here, I certainly need to know what it is.

 

My son sees a ped neurologist already for his migraines. So a visit would be easy because we are already set up. But I would appreciate more information.

Edited February 6, 2016 by pehp

[pehp]

No snoring and no asthma!

[displace]

Consider better sleep habits in general. If needing to urinate is the reason for him waking up, limit drinks 3 hrs or so before bed. Limit screen time and lights 2 hours before bed and stimulating activities, consider a white noise machine or fan (some people don't like them), consider melatonin, consider other environmental factors: temperature too cold or hot, pillow and mattress comfort. Some people do better with a slight change in sleep schedules (go to sleep 15-30 min earlier, wake up a little earlier).

 

Maybe the pp recommended Neuro for the migraines?

Edited February 6, 2016 by displace

[lanabug]

Couple of things that have worked for my 8 year old:

 

- rub a drop of lavender essential oil on the bottom of her feet and cover with socks.

 

- repeat the bedtime routine - cuddle, song, prayer

 

- back rub

 

- reverse psychology - tell the child they don't have to sleep but they do have to lie down in their bed with lights off. For some reason, this puts my daughter to sleep faster than anything else!

[Katy]

nm

Edited July 22, 2016 by Katy

[Katy]

nm

Edited July 22, 2016 by Katy

[Pronghorn]

Replace the nightlight with an amber nightlight. (See lowbluelights.com for the rationale.) Get a humidifier for winter nights. Take walks during the day to get sunlight. I also agree with the growth spurt or brain reorganization possibility. If that is the problem, time will help.

[pehp]

He's about 60 lbs.  I don't think he's close to puberty, but I could be wrong (geez! i hope I'm not wrong!!!). 

 

I will look into the amber nightlight. He needs a sufficient amount of light to not get freaked out (thus the room next door) but not total darkness. It's a delicate balance.  

 

He just finished a round of sleepwalking just now, too...literally JUST NOW.  I don't know what is going on with this child!

[pehp]

Little update: amber nightlight did the trick!!!!

 

Also, he has a hard time w/ bedwetting, so we've modified our approach to that, and that has likely helped too. 

 

No insomnia here in nearly a year.