Cant fall asleep | Imamother

quinny

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 12:14 pm

my 4 year old has a hard time falling asleep. she's in bed at 7 and I can find her up still at 9 every night. she's up every morning by 6 I'm concerned she's not getting enough sleep. she seems to be exhausted when she comes home from school but she wont fall asleep before 9. I prefer not to give melatonin what other choices do I have?

quinny

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 12:33 pm

5*Mom wrote:

Is she getting enough physical activity throughout the day?

7 sounds early. Have you tried putting her to be a bit later?

she gets plenty of activity during the day. I tried to put her in later it didn't help. I tried to get her ready for bedtime earlier and didn't help either. she's definitely tired by 7 but she just cant fall asleep and driving me crazy.

OMG!

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 1:27 pm

I had same issue with 5 yo dd. she would go to bed around 7:30-8 and still be up by 11. As I already once mentioned here, I started giving her a Tbs calcium twice day and that helped wonders!! I remember taking it as a teen. It helps ur body relax and fall asleep. You can get it at healthfood stores

Fox

Thu, Dec 04 2014, 1:54 pm

My DH and I were just talking about this topic. He falls asleep before his head hits the pillow, and I have a terrible time falling asleep -- and I've been like that since I was an infant.

Some ideas based on my own experiences as both a child and an adult with difficulty falling asleep:

* Use an aromatherapy diffuser with lavender or spray diluted lavendar oil on the pillow.

* Use a guided meditation recording to help your child learn how to relax.

* Play soft classical music or recordings of you reading stories.

* Give the child a warm bath with lavender oil shortly before bed.

* Experiment with different bedtimes as well as naps. It sometimes seems that parents are more interested in a particular bedtime or sleep schedule based on *their* desires -- not what works for the child.

* Have the child pretend to go to sleep for 10-15 minutes. If he/she is still awake at the end of that time, then it's okay to look at books or engage in another quiet activity.

* Experiment with different bedding options: number of pillows, types of blankets, etc.

Good luck! I went to bed at 11 p.m. last night and was still tossing and turning at 2 a.m. While that was a little unusual even for me, I absolutely never fall asleep in less than 30-45 minutes. Whatever skills you can give your child to assist him/her in getting good sleep will definitely pay off -- particularly if this turns out to be a life-long challenge.