Ds has had a rough week. Waking Up to early leads to worse behaviors and exhaustion by the end of the school day. He fell asleep at 4 PM and slept for an hour, which I had to wake him. I had him jump on his trampoline and do some gymnastics stuff for a half hour and he fell asleep at 9pm. He is usually out by 8. Then he awoke early and was hyper. When he usually wakes early it seems he shoes signs of a poor nights sleep.

Tonight I will try to skip a nap but he will be horribly mean and will probably be ready for bed by 6:30, but my husband complains that I put him to bed too early. But he usually is sleep deprived through the week. Weekends he sleeps to 7:30 or 8:00, occasionally later.

So besides exercise, (which is hard when it's cold and wet) are their meds or all natural things to help improve sleep quality? Excluding melatonin?

Forgive my spelling...spell check is sometimes an enemy.

We do screen cut offs an hour before bedtime (not sure how much screen exposure your DS gets but my two are electronic wizards). DS ends up pacing around and following and pestering me, then eventually grabs a book. Speaking of, both kids read in bed after they've changed into their jammies and brushed and flossed, and that seems to settle them down.

Exercise - lots of it for DS - or else the whole family would be up all night. So, we enrolled DS in a year round swimming program (indoor pool) and martial arts - and he has spent enough time to advance to levels where these activities get intense and physically demanding. This really helps in tiring him out. And then, we have a no screen time at home rule. That helps too. And the third thing that helps is a routine - bath, reading in bed and lights out at a fixed time.
My friends swear by chamomile tea and lavender tea for kids before bed - but I have not tried them so far.

I had similar issues with my 7 year old. In our case every little noise woke him at night. What worked for us was a white noise machine. Drowns out everything and he sleeps from 8-6 everynight now.

DD recently visited a pediatric neurologist who specializes in sleep issues. He told us to start her on melatonin and ordered a sleep study. The melatonin has changed our lives! We only give it to her on school nights and she is out like a light. The only downside was they had us give it to her on the night of her sleep study and she had literally the calmest night's sleep she has ever had. She is a good sized 9 year old and takes 2.5 mg (it is combined with chamomile so that may help too) about an hour before we want her asleep.

Good info. Sleep seems to effect ds drastically. Maybe I should pursue asking dr for a sleep study. I've heard melatonin is dangerous if used for long term? It's hard to do a quiet hour before bed because my husband doesn't get in until 6:30 or 7:00. We typically do shower before bed. Out ds isn't up all night and doesn't seem to have major issues going to sleep. We run our ac blower until he is asleep but I'm thinking noise machine. I'm just wondering about quality of sleep.

Out ds is super uncoordinated. Scared of water, unless holding the side of the pool. Doesn't show interest in sports. (We as parents are neither one athletic). I'd like to see him do something but I don't want to put him into something he doesn't enjoy because it will take all his free time.

I was recently reading up on sleep apnea. If your kid snores at all or has allergies, it may be worth getting them checked as they may be waking consistently at a certain point in their sleep cycle or never quite reach deep sleep because of breathing disruptions. And symptoms of sleepnessness and ADHD can be very similar.

Also, with a nod to conventional wisdom, milk is a good source of tryptophan.

Melatonin is naturally produced by the body so it's pretty safe for occasional use. I've heard, though, that if used regularly with kids it can reduce their ability to produce it themselves. I have a friend who uses it successfully with her kids, but I've never used it with mine.

We use melatonin here, too. I have read many studies about its use (none of the ones I have seen have ever mentioned that it is dangerous) and feel giving it to DD. In fact, after reading so much about it and its benefits to shift workers... I have begun to take it regularly myself. What a difference for both of us. I'm not worried that it will decrease our own natural production because I am fairly certain that our lack of natural production is the crux of the problem ;-)

Sleep is a big deal in our house. We have a very consistent bedtime routine that begins and ends at the same time every night, and all steps occur in the same order. It seems to help DD's sleep anxiety to know that she has completed 'all the steps'. If your child has any sensory issues, you can look into the use of weighted blankets. DD needs to have the heavy weight and/or be tucked in as tight as possible. Soft lullabies on a CD (even at 11!) and a promise that I will check in on her every 10 minutes until she is asleep. It has taken us years to come up with a formula that seems to work. But, to be honest, I give the most credit to the melatonin.