Insomnia

My husband and father in law both suffer from insomnia. They started taking a liquid dietary supplement called vemma (which has a 30 day empty bottle money back guarantee) and within that 1st month or so they both sleep great at night, plus reap the other many great benefits. If you are interested the site is. www.myvemma.com/bwynia

also i have many female problems and it has helped me out as well.

HI, I have a almost 12 year old that can go without sleep. He is finally on clonodine to help him get alittle sleep. But for him little sleep seems to be ok. He's always been like this, when he was little if we made him take a nap he wouldn't sleep at night. We tried the melatonin but I think it made him sleep too much and he was a real grump when he woke up. Right now with the clonidine he goes to bed at 8:30 although he is still awake sometimes till midnight, then gets himself up at 6am for school. What does of melatonin is she taking? I know you can take up to 5mg but if you have any questions I would contact her DR. Good Luck!!

We have a child with sleep disruptions due to autism. I empathize with your plight. We have found aromatherapy very helpful for her. The essential oil lavendar helps with calming. We put a couple of drops on her favorite toy or pillow and it helps her calm. We also found a wonderful bath/shampoo mixture of lavendar and eucalyptus that can be added to a warm bath and also helps with the winding down process. We get it from Fox Run Soap and Sundries near Ottawa. It only takes a couple of teaspoons in a tub about 1/2 full.
We have also found that being very routine in the sleep readiness pattern helps, as well. Giving a full hour or so of wind down that includes bath (with lavendar mixture), snuggle or reading time in a quiet/low light room, and then bed have also made a difference.
These are not perfect solutions, but they've had some positive impact for us. Wishing you well!
J.

Several things:

1. Dehydration can play a part in insomnia. Make SURE she's getting adequate (at least 1/2 her body weight in ounces) of WATER daily.

2. Have you tried more activity? I know that with Abbie, the more activity we have during the day, the quicker & more sound she sleeps. ME TOO!

3. Have your tried any tapes/CDs of relaxation, etc.? THOSE ARE AWESOME. You can even buy alarm clocks with ocean wave sounds on them (some have a rooster, too for the a.m.!)

4. She is old enough to journal. Whatever she's thinking about or mulling over, she needs to write it down. Writing things down when you can't sleep helps you get your mind off whatever you're thinking about.

5. Reading helps me.......especially the Bible. If there is something I'm concerned about and continually run thru my mind........it calms me and assures me.

6. Have you had conversation before she goes to bed about things that she's thinking about. Again sometimes getting it off your mind will make a big difference. Sometimes they just need to get off their mind whatever is keeping them up.

Hope this helps.

My thoughts on this, and I'm not at all knowledgable about this, are that you are putting her to bed for 13 hours a day. Teens and preteens need about 9-10 hours of sleep a night. Try letting her stay up later until she is sleepy then putting her to bed. Then let her wake up earlier. My kids go to bed at 9:30 and wake up at 6:30. They have no problems staying awake and are alert. They couldn't sleep for 13 hours if they tried!

Poor girl. I used to have trouble sleeping a lot, but it was due to worry, anxiety; and I usually knew what was bothering me. Make sure she is not having an anxiety issue-worried about boys? public speaking? dying? And I have never been able to sleep if I eat chocolate or anything rich close to bedtime.

I have a sister that used a sleep tape. She listens to it before bed. It tells you how to relax and get ready to fall asleep. After a while she was falling asleep before it was even finished. You might want to try this with her. And eventually stopped using it b/c she was falling asleep just fine.

If she were my daughter, I would have her start a half an hour aerobic exercise or jog each day; mid afternoon. And would have her go to bed at 9:30 or 10:00 PM. If she is getting up at 8:00-8:30, that is plenty of sleep. Make each bedtime routine the same, bathe, brush teeth, brush hair, pray, read, lights out.

7:30 is WAY too early for bedtime. At 12, our boys had a 9:30 bedtime to be up at 6:15 for a 7:00 bus. You're daughter is just not tired at 7:30!
Make sure she is getting physical activity during the day, outside if possible. Shoveling snow, sweeping, or sledding or shooting hoops, whatever gets her outside and moving. Are you part of a home school co-op for phys. ed. or field trips? Make sure she is getting together with other kids, they will keep each other active.
This might not work in your situation, but when I truly can't sleep (head spinning with tomorrow's worries) I get out of bed, lie on the couch in front of the TV and turn it onto something mildly interesting at very low volume. I set a timer for about an hour and a half. The TV is enough to keep me from worrying the same worries. I have to work to hear it, and soon it's just too much trouble; I rarely make it through an entire 1/2 hr. show. The timer wakes me up and I grope my way back to bed, where I go right back to sleep.
Relax about this a bit, try a later bedtime, keep her active. Not all kids need the same amount of sleep. Let her listen to and follow her body's sleep signals. She'll be fine!

Celestrial Seasons makes a "sleepy time" tea that has helped me on those bad nights.It is caffine free and all natural herbs.Get it at the grocery store. You might try Valerian tea as well. Warm milk makes me wired.Peanut butter lets me sleep as well.All those PM medications keep me awake as well and I have chronic pain.They have caffine in them if you read the box.
Is your daughter Heavy for her age ? she could have sleep apnea, I did when I was really heavy but after I lost 20 pounds I slept better.She may not get enough stimulation during the day to really wear her out also, is she in any kind of sport or other physical exercise that could help to make her tired.Maybe a dance class or gymnastics or volley ball. Something that you really gotta move around alot. I know I sleep better when I get outside and get fresh air and sunshine and plenty of exercise.
Good Luck. Debbie

I also suffer from insomnia and am on medication. However these medications are not safe for children. My son had problems calming down so what we discovered was Valerian Root tablets and sleepy time tea. These seemed to calm him down enough to sleep. Always ask your doctor before trying these supplements though. My prayers will be with you in this trying time.

I use the herbs valerian and lemon balm for sleep issues. They are commonly used in Europe and are very safe(of course anyone can be allergic to anthing so always start one a time and small amounts). If you remember reading The Diary of Anne Frank--her mom gives her valerian to help her sleep during their terrible times. Relaxation/meditation CD's could be useful with guided relaxation and soft music. Acupressure can help too--I am an acupressurist--the points just below the ankle bones are good to help with sleep. Also, on the wrist crease on the little finger side just on the outside of the big tendon you will feel there. If you would like anymore info on this feel free to email me. Teens sometimes go through changes in sleep schedules as their bodies are changing and everyone has their own bio-rythyms. One of the great pluses of homeschooling is that you don't have to follow the schedule of the rest of the world! Let her sleep when she wants to and if she needs to do her work at night then let her. My second daughter is now 24 and has never been one to sleep regular schedules. She was so happy to get to college and be able to take all afternoon classes if she wanted (she wanted me to homeschool just so she would not have to get up early-but I was a single mom and could not do so). She is now teaching so has to get up early, she sleeps when she gets home, and then stays up most of the night! It works for her. on the other hand her younger sister would go to sleep at 8:00 and get up at 7:00 every single day from age 3 until she was in high school. Everyone is different and there is a need for second and third shift workers in many fields. Maybe she will find that she loves being up at night and sleeping during the day so will be a great night shift nurse-or midwife/doula who can stay up all night with her clients!

There are lots of things it could be. BUT getting her to the doctor first would be helpful. First - family doctor, and discuss sleep studies (which could also be very helpful) - it could be something really simple. It could be that the recent bout has something to do with hormone changes.

There's got to be something that can be done to help her be able to sleep - start with either/or or both with taking her to the family doctor or sleep study (or both).

Okay, I know this going to sound interfering on my part but, change the bedtime snack to popcorn, crackers with peanut butter, something with a lot less sugar in it than cookies, ice cream etc. and instead of going to bed earlier have her go to bed later.
Even my ten year old doesn't go to bed until 9 and he is up at 5:45 a.m. to catch a bus at 6:55!
Also she may be getting to start her cycles and her hormones are changing so her internal clock is different. I can't even concieve of a child who is in bed at her age by 8:30 and doesn't get up until 8:30!!! How did you get so lucky??? I had one who had her days and nights backwards and she would be up (awake at least) until after midnight every night and still up by 7 before school started and she stopped napping at 23 months old and one who went to bed by 8 p.m. and was up at 4:30 for his first breakfast then back to sleep until 7 when he got up for serious breakfast! He stopped napping at 26 months old. This one got up at about 2 a.m. every night and got a drink, went to the bathroom and then went back to bed from the time school started until he got out of high school. For all I know he still does it!!

G.,
I went though horrible insomnia when I was your daughters age. I think she is getting ready to start her periods. I'm sure there is a lot going on in her body right now. I know for me there just wasn't a whole lot my mom could do for me either. She will eventually get back to normal but it may take a few months. I didn't start sleeping well again till after I started. I still to this day don't sleep well. I wish I had better advice. I'm sure you have already had the"talk" ....prepare yourself mom.
Good luck to both of you.

Valerian works well to relax me, taken about half an hour before bedtime. Does she have Restless Leg Syndrome? There is a homeopathic med called Restful Legs that you can get online at Vitacost. You can get Valerian there, too. Have her learn yoga and meditation and spend a half hour before bed doing this practice. This will help relax both her body and mind and help control the "monkey mind" she might be experiencing. She could have sleep apnea and may need the help of a doctor or sleep clinic. Good luck!

I've read a couple of responses that I feel are good advice: sleepy time tea, going to bed a bit later, more daytime activities, etc. But one more thing you might want to throw into the mix is put a white noise machine in her room or a fan. I personally need a fan on to sleep. I've had to use a fan since my days in the dorm in college. I've been sleeping with a fan on now for nearly 16 years. I can't sleep without it. Maybe she just needs something like that.

Try Bach Sleep Rescue. I think Hylands also has a natural sleep aid.

I agree with other post, my first thought was sleep study. Those tell alot.

I had the same problem, I too was home schooled, never could sleep. My parents did the same thing your doing and nothing worked until I got more active. Is she in sports or anything like that? The bed time is way to early. She needs to go to bed later and needs to be up no later than 6am! That's what most kids her age do when they get up for school. We were never allowed to sleep past 6am on a school day. Believe me it does work, she will sleep like a baby... Try it and let us no how it worked.. good luck

You might ask your doctor to have her get a sleep study. Sleep specialists can tell you what is going on, and help her if she needs it.

M.

Dear G.,

What a great mom you are, not rushing to the medicine cabinet for a solution!

I would recommend seeing a good Integrative M.D. (deals with traditional and alternative medicine) to see if diet and supplements might make a difference. I see a woman named Sandra Pinkham in Columbus, and my life has changed unbelievably since I started following her advice. If you can't find a good Integrative M.D. in Dayton, it would be worth the drive to Columbus to see Sandy. She doesn't require patients to come in every whip stitch, so you wouldn't have to make the trip often at all. In the 11 months I've been seeing her, I've only gone three times (including my first visit), and two of those were due another condition I had that was unrelated to the insomnia.

When I first went to Sandy, I was doing what I call "sleeping in spurts." For the life of me, I couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours at a time. Sandy recommended melatonin, along with significant dietary changes. The diet worked so well, I never even had to open the bottle of melatonin I bought! I noticed a huge change within the first three days I was following the diet. It's been 11 months now, and I am still sleeping well and feeling good in the mornings. I used to have to take at least one nap in the day time, but now my energy level is so good, I don't nap at all.

If you're interested in Sandy's contact information, please send me a private message, and I'll reply with it.

As someone else mentioned, it could be that your daughter is growing up and doesn't require as much sleep as she used to. At 11 1/2, she's also approaching some major hormonal changes, and that can have an effect on sleep patterns too.

Good luck!