Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Insomnia

I still can't make myself fall asleep at will. I keep going until I crash... Fans can be helpful if noise is an issue. On the up side, if he ever goes to medical school, not being able to sleep at night can be a positive thing. Lol.

I can sympathize. I've always been a night owl, and DS7 is too. I've been trying to adjust from summer bedtimes back to school bedtimes for several weeks, as they start school tomorrow, and even last night he was still awake until 11:30. He just won't turn off. We have CDs that both kids listen to in bed, and also frequently run the fan for white noise as well as cooling, but they are just go go go. It's going to be a rough first couple of weeks of school, till they adjust to getting up so early.

My youngest is a night owl, and my solution has been to make some rules about what time he gets ready for bed - including a small drink, light snack and brushing teeth (8 PM), what time he has to be in bed (8:30 PM), and what time the light has to be out next to his bed (9:30 PM). I told him that I didn't mind if he made up stories in his head until he got sleepy or quietly sang songs, but that he had to be in bed with the light out on week nights.

When he was younger and would get up, I would redirect him back to bed with as little interaction as possible. At first, it took several redirects, but when he realized that getting up wasn't going to give him some one-on-one with me, he eventually stayed in bed. I still pass his room on occasion and hear him singing to himself in the dark. But because it is dark and non-stimulating, it helps him unwind and go to sleep faster than if I let him continue to play or work until he decided he was tired enough to go to sleep.

On Friday and Saturday nights, I don't set a bed time for him. He'll play X-Box with his older brother, build lego cities, or play Pokemon until 11 PM and sometimes later.

Over the years with DS14, we have found that it is easier for him to unwind and get to sleep when:
a) bedtime is earlier, and very regular
b) melatonin
c) physical activity
d) One parent sleeps with him in his bed
e) He sleeps in bed with Mom and Dad
f) audio books , relaxation CD, music CD

This year he has a roomate, and expect it will go just fine.

I don't know if this has to do with giftedness, but without the melatonin there was never any gradual sleepiness. I've since read that there is a 30 minute period where the physical signs of sleep occur but the person can still talk. see fasinating article:

DS seemed to never fully go to deep sleep, but always be very wake-able. Except of course, in the morning, when it seemed that he could barely move his limbs. I had read that gifties need less sleep, and I'm sure that is true for some, but in retrospect, I think DS's difficulty in getting to sleep fooled me into thinking that he didn't need sleep.
Luckily pediatricians are talking sleep more seriously. Might be worth a visit.

There is always a possibility that deeper thinking will help - worth a try.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

My son's almost three. �I don't know about insomnia, but when he's sick I try to keep him asleep almost all day and all night because I believe it helps the body heal faster. �You know he'd rather get up and play. �The way I do it is to tell him "you don't have to go to sleep. �Just lay still and be quiet and close your eyes.". Then I lay beside him and lay still. �I breathe deep, slow, rhythmically and loud enough to be heard. �I check to see if he's too hot or too cold. �When they're asleep if you look at them and they're starting to scootch up into a ball they're getting cold and they will wake up.
Personally I sometimes can't resist the temptation to get up and do something else sometimes after it's my bedtime. �I also remember my mother telling me that I used to walk and talk in my sleep. �She said I would get out of bed and find her and start carrying on a conversation like nothing. �She said I would then say something totally off the wall, that's the only way she'd know I was asleep. �One time when I was five I walked out of the house and two blocks away to a friends house in the middle of the night in my sleep. �(they installed a deadbolt above my reach after that one). So I guess that even if you can "turn off your mind" and go to sleep, maybe that doesn't mean your brain and body has to go along with it. �

I�ve had the same problem since I was a child and with my DD since she was 2. Melatonin and good routines and soft music and no computer for two hours before bedtime and reading and laying down with her and many many other strategies for me and DD all help for a couple of days or weeks, but nothing sticks for the long term, which is why I am investigating sleep disorders. I am currently being treated for a circadian rhythm sleep disorder--my brain wants to be awake from about 2 in the afternoon until about 4 am. I am being treated by a neurologist who specialized in sleep disorders.

I suspect my daughter�s brain works similarly, based on her sleep behavior and how I remember my sleep behavior as a child. Not to mention, many many people in my very large family have similar complaints.

I am homeschooling this year, which helps us keep our sleep schedule more flexible, but it�s still difficult. I just bought a light therapy device which we are going to attempt to use to change our body clocks, which I have read have been very successful. You can buy them online at Amazon. Good luck.

I totally feel your pain. DC is 8 1/2 and STILL has sleep issues... Never required the amount of sleep that most children that age do, says "can't turn off mind at night", just... takes a while to sleep! I've gotten books about sleep to help ("what to do when you dread the bed")... worked for a while, but then was right back. I told my DH now that school has started, it's like the stimulation of being back at school has made DC's mind hard to turn off at bedtime again! DH is like that too, so, I am not expecting it to go away any time soon (if ever!) Even as a baby, DC sleep much. Doc said... must not require a lot! Too alert to everything!

wow is this conversation timely - DS7 has always had a difficult time turning off his brain at night. He will lay in bed and discuss everything under the sun. Either DH or myself has to to lay with him until he falls asleep and then he is usually out until morning. The only rough thing is that I am exhausted. DH just took a temporary placement out of state for the next 4 months to help his company out and I am now finding that I am laying in bed with him until 10/11:00 at night and then since I homeschool, I pretty much get zero time to myself before I crash in my bed. Tonight was one of those rough nights where every time I got up to leave his room, he would wake up - it was finally 12:15 when I was able to leave. I SO wish that he would be comfortable being alone and we would have no problem with him laying in bed reading until he fell asleep but he is scared to be alone in bed at night

That sounds so hard - I hope it improves. I would just put him on the floor of my bedroom. But I don't have a problem with that I know some people do. My children sleep so little that I honestly believe that any sleep is good sleep!

We've had the same problem for so long!

DS used to amaze us by sleeping so little. He dropped both naps by 13 months, which was a torture for his caregiver. It took him forever to sleep, and he'd toss and turn he whole night (we all co-sleep). Funny thing was, waking up seemed like turning on a switch - sometimes he'd start talking even before his eyes were open.

Recently because of his 2e issues, I started sending him to a cranial osteopath. The osteopath examined him and gave me his prognosis out of earshot from DS - that DS has insufficient sleep and is unlikely to be sleeping at all. When I asked DS later, I was stunned. "Yes it's difficult to turn my brain off, so I go into deep relax and wait till morning." DS defines deep sleep as having dreams and "deep relax" as a state of deep relaxation with some awareness and no dreams.

In any case, we've been to several weekly sessions now at the osteopath, and together with a completely overhauled diet, DS is definitely dreaming again. He still finds it difficult to fall asleep, but at least he's clocking an average of 7-8 hours, and yes, it's actually hard to wake up him these days.