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Sleeping Tips

Members and visitors offer their suggestions to solving problems with sleeping. 

I don’t know whether or not you like using medication, but my son has ADHD and didn’t sleep until I got him medication called melatonin. It’s not actually a drug because melatonin is in our bodies, all it does is boost the levels of melatonin therefore allowing them to sleep and it works wonderfully. 

My name is Erica and I suffer from ADD.  I suffer the same thing that your daughter does.  I have problems sleepiing (falling asleep and waking too soon).  My problem was that I had some many things on my mind that I could stop to rest.  Also I have been on a caffeine binge for so long that my system is on superspeed.  What might help is if she trains herself to stop thinking of things at one time.  She can place extra thoughts that need attention at a later date in  special [lace in her mind.  Also, she may want to start writing in a journal.  That way she can have control of her thoughts.  She can go to them as needed, but leave them in her journal until she wants and needs to retrieve them. 

I hope that this helps.

What I do to help me go to sleep and it really does help is find a book on tape that she would like to read and let her listen to the books on tape at night time.

1.  Is the child on stimulant medication that is time release?  Perhaps it is lasting too long.

2.  Is the child on anything like clonidine 2 hours before bed that is a sedative

and can help the child counteract the stimulant?

3.  Does the child have an anxiety diagnosis?

4.  Has the child had a sleep study from a pulmonary doctor?

5.  Is the child bipolar/manic?  Reduced need for sleep is one symptom.

6.  Is the child's bed uncomfortable?  Is the child phobic about school (sleeps better on weekends that during the week?  Is the room too hot or too cold?

7.  Is the child on Concerta?  I have heard of concerta lasting way longer than it is supposed to and kids being taken off it.

I am the mother of a 10 yr old son with ADHD. He too has difficulty falling to sleep at night. Have you tried letting your daughter listen to classical or relaxation CD's or tapes through her headphones? In addition to this I lie with my son every night and rub his back etc... in an effort to calm him down and get him into sleep mode. This works. On nights were I do not lie with him he is awake longer than he should be.

I just wanted to give you what I have found works for my 11 year old son and for me.  We both suffer from insomnia which is fibromyalgia related.  My second son has dyslexia and has no problem with sleep, but my 11 year old and I struggle immensely-ADD, dyslexia and fibromyalgia are all neurologically related.  After all the doctors had doped me with sleeping pills (all with serious side-effects) I started researching diphenhyramine HCI which is the generic ingredient in Benadryl.  I got on several medical internet sites and found out that this chemical is extremely safe and I have had excellent luck without the grogginess I used to have in the morning with sleeping pills.  My son has been able to take 1 pill an hour before bedtime and wakes up rested and not groggy.  We had tried Paxil for him but with too many serious side-effects.  I buy the bottle of 50-100 caplets in the generic Kmart brand (I believe it is American fare) very cheaply but the rewards of sleep and knowing my child is able to sleep instead of staring at the wall all night has been a huge blessing.  Please, check this out yourself and try it.  They are non-habit forming and I guarantee  your daughter will get some much needed sleep.

My daughter has the same problem, has had from the beginning. She is 7yrs old and the Dr. past and present gives her something to sleep. Remeron in a low dose an hour before bed usually does the trick. The key to making it work faster is to get her to stay still and watch tv or something until it has taken ahold of her. I've literally seen her work the med out of her system by allowing her to continue on at her regular speed. Which by the way, is warp speed!

Good luck, 

My 12 yo son also has difficulty falling to sleep. We have tried calm music, warm milk and many other things. You may want to look into trying Remeron at 7.5mg. This is normally used for depression but when used at low doses, works to help people fall asleep and sleep well (get good REM sleep which we all need).  It has a quick half life which means it is usually out of their system way before they need to get up. Good luck!

You don't say say whether your daughter is tired every morning. Perhaps she just needs less sleep than most. Instead of worrying about not being able to go to sleep, perhaps she should just accept that she's not going to sleep until late and do activities that encourage relaxation eg a warm bath, listening to gentle music, writing letters or a diary etc. Perhaps she could set up a wind-down routine about an hour or so before bed so that even if she's in bed and not sleeping, she's relaxing and allowing her body to rest. I hope she finds a way to deal with this soon.

We often give our son who, also has great difficulty sleeping, tylenol pm at around 7 pm.  He also has to get up by 6 am every weekday so he does get somewhat tired at night.  We are also giving him flaxseed oil (the refrigerated kind). We try for 2 T per day but he resists us on this.  My son also does not go to sleep until we all do. He has some anxiety and ADHD and he comes alive around 9 pm every day if we do not give him the tylenol pm.  We have also used melatonin at times and stronger things.

Have you tried a calcium-magnisium supplement?? I am looking into this.  It is supposed to calm them down.

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This is a tough one!  I have some insomniacs in my home and it is very hard. I have 3 ideas - light therapy, exercise, and a sleep clinic.  Maybe you've tried all these, but just in case. 

1. Regular exercise helps some people to fall asleep more easily, maybe your daughter? 

2. I notice that when my family has a "no electricity" night everyone is quieter and gets to sleep earlier. (If you're wondering, we have candles at dinner, no appliances or light bulbs on except the fridge, and we tell stories of grandparents and other ancestors who lived without electricity

and telephones much of their lives.  It's a lot of fun.)  Perhaps a more radical version of this would help your child.  Also, we don't allow anyone who's having trouble falling asleep to watch TV late. 

3. The sleep clinic would be expensive, I'm sure, but I read about someone who simply could never get to sleep early and was nearly unwakeable until 10 a.m., who finally went to a sleep clinic and had his "clock" reset by a gradual change in schedule (going forward, not back).  It took about 2 weeks, and then some maintenance, but apparently worked.  Sorry, I can't remember where I read the article.

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 My little girl doesn't like to go to sleep either.  Usually how I get her to go to sleep is let her sing me a song or tell me a story.  She's not as old as your daughter, but what ever works!  Sometimes I sing to her as well.  My little girls routine is to say her prayers, count to 30, and then sing me a song or tell me a story.  By this time she's ready to go to sleep.  I'm sorry my example is couldn't be better.  My prayers are with you.  Sincerely, A Mother

My daughter started having that same problem when she was about 4 years old.. We found out when she was 8 that she had Celiac Disease. Now that she's on a gluten free diet, it went away. She had other problems like ADD and OCD that also vanished. If you get a chance, check out http://www.celiac.com and read the FAQ. Your letter says that you have tried diets. Have you already tried a gluten free diet? If not, give it about a week or two and note the results!

The latest research indicated that Celiac Disease is as common as 1 out of every 150 Americans. The University of Maryland did some research on it lately. http://www.celiaccenter.org 

I hope this helps, it certainly was a miracle for us!

Hi!  I am 31 years old and have ADHD. I have had difficulty going to sleep and as long as I can remember.  Things that work for me are:  Reading (boring), watching something on TV I have seen a thousand times (boring), listening to music I like (which focuses my mind on one thing), a really physically active day (I run out of energy), and the most helpful and my absolute last resort is anxiety medication such as Ativan.  

I have been coping with ADHD most of my life with no treatment whatsoever because I didn't know, until my daughter was diagnosed, that I had it.  I am currently receiving treatment (Adderall).  It is working wonderfully and has almost completely relieved my symptoms of sleeplessness.  I used to wake up all during the night and was unable to return to sleep also.  My daughter also had difficulty going to sleep.  She is taking Concerta and she goes right to sleep now, however, she is still a real grouch in the morning.  I hope this helps and good luck to you and your daughter.

Hi. I saw your message that your daughter couldn't sleep. Even though I'm a kid (17), I had the same issue. My brain wouldn't shut down enough to sleep. My doctor put me on some medication called Trazadone. I thought it worked, and I don't have any weird side effects. Good luck finding an answer.   

Firstly, let me say that I sympathize with you! I realize that you probably have tried all sorts of things. Can I suggest that you try to relax a bit on this? If you get hyped up about her not getting to sleep - she senses it too and so you start a cycle. Perhaps a nice cup of camomile tea and a quiet lie down on the bed, chatting about nonsense. Also, prayer helps alot - I find that when I start praying for people while lying in bed it puts me to sleep! 

Hope you get some sleep!

This problem should fairly readily resolve with Neurofeedback...which makes it effortless for child and family alike.

I have a 10 year old son with the same problem. Have you tried melatonin? We used it for about 1.5 years with good results, but check with your child's doctor first of course. Now my son takes clonidine to help with some mild autism spectrum issues and it really assists in falling asleep much sooner. It's a very low dose, but we've been very pleased. 

My children all have adhd and have the same problem getting to sleep. The counselor I take them to suggested "white noise," which is supposed to help them fall asleep and stay asleep by causing them to fall into a deeper sleep and thereby feel more rested when they wake in the morning.

I have tried everything else under the sun and this is the only thing that has worked. 

I found mine at babies are us in the section where they sale night lights with tape recorders to put on cribs, etc.  It is called "Nature's Soothing Sounds" and costs about $19.95.  It runs on batteries, but you can also purchase an ac adaptor to plug it in at Radio Shack for under

$3.00 if I remember correctly.  The batteries last quite a long time though. 

Anyway, my boys (8 and 5) love it.  It has a heartbeat, ocean waves, a brook, birds, crickets, rain and white noise (which is just static noise).  All of them are intended to help the brain focus on the noise, thereby tuning all other sounds out, including fears and nightmares so that they can sleep better. 

It really works!!!! 

I hope this helps

My son did not sleep his doctor gave him catapres to take at night half an hour before bed,I hate giving him these pills as he is also on dex during the day but we were exhausted and our nerves were shot from lack of sleep, also watch out for herbal teas as sometimes they have the opposite affect and some foods do it as well. Good luck 

My son, who is ADHD, has never been able to sleep from the day he was born. He was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5 and we tried every method you can think of to help him get to sleep, all to no avail.  Finally, our pediatrician put him on a drug called Clonidine at a very small dosage.  This has been a life saver!  He is now 11 y.o. and takes it every night at 7:30.  This allows him to go to sleep with no problems around 9:30 - 10:00. 

Good luck!

Have you tried homeopathy? (natural remedies)  do not know if insurance will cover.