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He can't fall asleep but is soooo tired!

SarahR

Hi,

just wondering if anyone has any suggestions about how i can help my 11 year old son to fall asleep??

he goes up to bed at 7:30pm, and is still awake a couple of hours later - it can get to midnight sometimes! as you can guess he's tired the next day, irritable and can never explain what's keeping him awake. he looks pale all the time, and sometimes we have a lot of bad nights in a row and he starts to look ill.

i have told him that we are trying switching all the lights off upstairs now, as he's old enough, and that upset him and he said it made him uncomfortable. i've tried baths, warm drinks, letting him read for half an hour.....short of using a rubber mallet, i don't know what else to try!! don't want to go down the drug route really....

thanks

 

Parents

  • Hi

    We definitely share this problem.  Since last Summer my son does not settle well at all and has just turned 9.  He will be asleep at 10pm at the earliest and it has been midnight - with school the next day.  As you say, a number of nights like that build up and you have one irritable, sensitive boy that you just know is going to struggle through the day.

    We have tried loads of things.  We know it is anxiety that is keepig him awake as it coincided with a new class in a new school with no support.  One of our more successful things was a hot water bottle with a white furry cover.  I did not think it would make much difference but it definitely helps. 

    He is also a big reader, so I let him read but only with the light from the hall.  Sometimes he is desperate to finish the book rather than leave it half way.  He also has warm milk etc.  I saw somewhere a cool room is easier to get to sleep in than a warm one - expect you have all this well and truly covered though.

    We are considering melatonin as recommended by the paedatrician last September.  We resisted initially, as like you I would rather avoid drugs but things are in a bad way just now and the lack of sleep is just making it worse. Do you have any experience of melatonin you can share?

     

     

Reply

  • Hi

    We definitely share this problem.  Since last Summer my son does not settle well at all and has just turned 9.  He will be asleep at 10pm at the earliest and it has been midnight - with school the next day.  As you say, a number of nights like that build up and you have one irritable, sensitive boy that you just know is going to struggle through the day.

    We have tried loads of things.  We know it is anxiety that is keepig him awake as it coincided with a new class in a new school with no support.  One of our more successful things was a hot water bottle with a white furry cover.  I did not think it would make much difference but it definitely helps. 

    He is also a big reader, so I let him read but only with the light from the hall.  Sometimes he is desperate to finish the book rather than leave it half way.  He also has warm milk etc.  I saw somewhere a cool room is easier to get to sleep in than a warm one - expect you have all this well and truly covered though.

    We are considering melatonin as recommended by the paedatrician last September.  We resisted initially, as like you I would rather avoid drugs but things are in a bad way just now and the lack of sleep is just making it worse. Do you have any experience of melatonin you can share?

     

     

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