5 yr old can't get to sleep

[Runningbob]

Does anyone have any advice to help my 5 yr old DD get to sleep?

She has never been able to fall asleep quickly, since birth - regularly taking over an hour at night to fall asleep, often two hours, even as a baby, and over the years we have tried everything! We have a regular routine and a regular bedtime, and she is calm and happy, not upset or distressed at bedtime, she simply cannot fall to sleep! Even after she has been laying in her dark quiet bedroom for an hour we are quite used to hearing her shout out "can I have a drink of water please" or "can I have a teddy please"... However, once asleep she does sleep deeply all night and seems refreshed in the morning though she often looks tired in the evenings and especially after school.

I think her natural bodyclock would be sleeping from 9 or 10 pm to 9 or 10 am, but this is obviously not compatible with going to school! In contrast my 3 yr old DS can fall to sleep within minutes - he makes it look so easy!

How can I help my DD get to sleep?!

[stellak9]

I don't have a child of that age or faced similar sleep issues. I just wanted to tell that I was recently reading Dr.Ferber's book. It's a same that people think it's the cio book because it has tons of valuable info on sleep. One of the sleep problems he handles is what you describe. He mentions how you can adjust bedtime according to your child's natural bodyclock. Overall the book is a very interesting read on sleep, I would highly recommend it if you have some time and a few pounds.

[Runningbob]

Thank you for your reply and the recommendation - the book sounds really interesting, I will check it out!