Teen DD can't fall asleep at night

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Teenagers and Older children

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amother

Seafoam

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 2:33 pm

My teenage DD is suddenly not sleeping at night. She can't seem to fall asleep - she says she feels like her brain is not letting her drift off to sleep. She says nothing is bothering her - she does well in school, has friends, etc....this is sudden and new, started happening in the last week. The only change she has gone thru recently is, she just got her period for the first time 3 weeks ago, and now she has it again.

I took her to the doctor, and they said to give her benadryl. Not helping much. She falls asleep at like 2 in the morning, if she's lucky. She's exhausted, other than that she's herself.

Any advice? This happened to any of you? I'm not sleeping well either, as I'm worried about her.

TIA.

MagentaYenta

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 2:35 pm

This is typical for teens, it's one of the reasons why some public schools moved to later start times for their HS students.

PinkFridge

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 2:36 pm

When was the last time she had a physical?

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 2:40 pm

PinkFridge wrote:

When was the last time she had a physical?

In May. She's not due for another one yet.

naomi2

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 7:10 pm

Maybe she can do yoga/ meditation before bedtime

Amarante

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 7:26 pm

Magenta Yenta is correct as teens sleep cycles are different and it probably coincides with her getting her period for th first time.

Their brains etc are now wired to stay up late and sleep late which is why many teens left to their own devices can sleep past lunch in weekends.

As a teen who could literally fall asleep standing up on the subway in the way home, it's really nothing to worry about especially if you let her make up sleep on the weekends. It's not ideal but teens are not meant to go to bed early and wake up early. Eventually their sleep patterns more or less although some will always be larks and some nightingales

From personal experience, as a teen and young adult I stayed up late and slept to the last possible moment and often on weekends would sleep for hours. Then I switched my sleep patterns so I was getting up at the crack of dawn without an alarm and falling asleep early.

oliveoil

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 8:34 pm

Is she having lots of screen time in the evenings? (phone, tablet, computer, television etc.)

That can definitely make it hard to fall asleep. Brain feels like it's wired/buzzing.

There should be at least an hour (preferably more) between screen time and bed.

singleagain

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 8:39 pm

I'm 30 and get exhausted before and during my period. I very often have a day where I sleep later and take one or two naps about two/three days before period comes. it could be part of her cycle. especially, as you say nothing else has changed much.

I would also second the person who asked about a physical... even if she's not yet due for one, call her primary doc and see maybe about getting blood work, just to make sure she's ok, bc sometimes lethargy can be related to more than just menstruation.

amother

Seafoam

Mon, Dec 05 2016, 9:14 pm

Thanks everyone who responded.

If she'd catch up on weekends I wouldn't be worried...this past weekend she couldn't fall asleep, and when she finally did she slept only a few hours. She used to be able to sleep, and sleep in, practically till DH came home from Shul.

She has no screentime, etc...and spent time reading and relaxing....she desperately wants to sleep. Today she came home from school exhausted, and I just gave her benadryl and melatonin (doctor's advice) and sent her down to sleep. I hope she's sleeping (scared to check lest I wake her).

I think I'm going to take her back to the doctor tomorrow and ask for some bloodwork. I'm just worried, want to know everything is okay. This DD is a sweetiepie who has never before given me a days worry, ever. It's not like her.

amother

Chocolate

Tue, Dec 06 2016, 6:37 pm

I had insomnia for years, so I know a bit about sleep help.

Make sure she isn't havign any caffeine any between lunchtime and bed.

Also, benadryl is a terrible idea - it will make you sleepy when you take it, but doesn't actually teach your body to sleep and can make your sleep cycles worse.

Try having her exercise about 2 hours before bed (not closer to bed than that, because then she'll still be on an adrenaline high). This tires the body out well, releases endorphins, and makes it easier to sleep.

amother

Seafoam

Wed, Dec 07 2016, 11:15 am

An update: Doctor thinks it's related to her first period affecting her Circadian rhythm. Says it happens to some teens. For the past two nights, she has been able to fall asleep and have a quality, deep sleep with a combination of benadryl and melatonin. (melatonin alone didn't get her to fall asleep, and benadryl alone didn't give her a quality sleep...but both together are working for now.)

Hoping that after doing this for a bit, we will be able to wean her off. It's such a relief that in the meantime, at least she's feeling rested and able to function in school, etc...

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