DD can't sleep in boarding

To be fair user1999, I drug my child too, with medication to treat his adhd and his conduct disorder and to help him sleep as the adhd and the meds he has for it male that hard. Medicating a child is not inherently wrong.

That said I agree that it needs to be a last resort not a first one. If op's dc cannot sleep at school I think figuring out why and trying to deal with that- which may mean bringing her home- should happen before a pharmacological response is sought.

You’re asking for a quick fix but refusing to give any details that might help.

Melatonin is available on Amazon too I think. I’m not sure that or phenergen would stop the early waking though. However, the placebo effect might be enough to help her.

You could get the Fitbit and put the app on your phone so she doesn’t get obsessed with checking her sleeping? I’m not sure it would sync unless the phone was close to the watch though.

Maybe hide the app on her phone? If she’s like my DSs with a million apps! Then you can log in online?

Well OP one of my dds is a bad sleeper and always has been. She's not depressed or at boarding school. She is very clever and puts a lot of pressure on herself.

In the holidays I wake her up at 7 and take phones away at 10pm. A few days of this seems to reset things plus I insist she gets plenty of fresh air. Rescue remedy night stuff helps too. Good luck.

Google Howard Leight lite ear plugs. They are soft and very gently mould to the ear shape, they won't give her infections. My dd slept with them every night for yrs with no issues

We did a ouija board when I was at boarding school and scared the crap out of ourselves. Couldn't sleep for a while but got over it because our days were really busy and full of activities and sport, so sleep came relatively easily. Are they being kept busy enough during the day? You mention gaming - are they on devices before bed?
I sleep with earplugs too and the only ones I like are the 3M yellow ones. Sleep mask also good. Get a light satiny one. Problem with those is that they are quite habit forming. I can't sleep without earplugs now.

CloudsAway you can buy melatonin off iherb.com and get it delivered to the UK, we do this for our ASD/ADHD 8 year old. He has one strawberry flavour jelly at bedtime (adult dose is 2), it's transformed his sleep.

I do not think you will find a quick fix for this. Disturbed sleep is going to detrimentally impact on her overall health and well being and her ability to cope with school. I don't think we have the full story and no 13yr old girl is going to go to bed in ear plugs. How does your daughter feel, is she worried about it, does she have other anxiety
I agree she might be dreadfully unhappy which is the trigger for all the issues? I would be pulling her out, bringing her back home to neutral territory to get the full picture. Don’t think you can do this when she is still there. Do feel OP is just wanting to put a sticky plaster over everything and I don’t really think you can compare someone’s experience of going away to university ( earlier post ) to a child that probably just needs her family

I do not think you will find a quick fix for this. Disturbed sleep is going to detrimentally impact on her overall health and well being and her ability to cope with school. I don't think we have the full story and no 13yr old girl is going to go to bed in ear plugs. How does your daughter feel, is she worried about it, does she have other anxiety issues?

I recommend flare audio sleep ear plugs. I use them nightly and get a good nights sleep because of them. I do still hear my alarm as it's a different noise.

If you could get any melatonin, that can be helpful in resetting the body clock, and might be something to do over a holiday period.

It's sold off the shelf in other countries, but not in the UK, though I think it can be prescribed. You can get slow-release formulations. I don't know what the recommended ages for it are. I used it to help with jet-lag (bought it in Canada).

Try this too, lavender is relaxing www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/dr-organic-lavender-sleep-therapy-pillow-spray-60013575

Early waking is a cardinal sign of depression or anxiety. It is the very first sign something is up for 4/5 of the people I know who suffer from depression.

Bear in mind that the apparent trigger, whatever it was, may be only part of the story.

If something very specific has frightened her, then there is no quick fix. She needs talking therapy possibly including CBT, as pps have said.

I hope you find a solution OP

Are they allowed to listen to something with headphones as they fall asleep? If so audio books or meditation cds have worked well for my DC who struggles with insomnia although younger than yours. The Christianne Kerr meditation cds are very soothing.

I was really suggesting the Phenergan to use at home during half term as you said her sleep pattern was still off, to help her get back on track quickly and get some extra sleep, recharge her batteries. I find being tired makes me more prone to anxiety, I worry about not getting enough sleep on top of everything else, it's a negative feedback loop.

This sounds a bit like me when I started uni - which was something I very much wanted to do and was looking forward to. I (mostly) enjoyed it from the start, and was able to leave behind a tricky home situation. I also felt sick much of the time and had to force myself to eat. I lost weight (though only a couple of kg) and my periods stopped. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was the stress and anxiety of being in a new place, and having to deal with a lot of new things. It got better after a term; I think I simply needed that long to adjust.

I used to work in a boarding school there are plenty of happy well adjusted children who struggle to sleep. We used to promote the concept of sleep hygiene, in particular *no screens8 after 2100 and avoiding sleeping to much during the day power napping rather than spending 3 hours in bed sleeping in the afternoon.
Ear plugs do help (I have insomniac tendencies) and I also use this this I was given it and was sceptical that it would work but it has really helped. Finally how comfortable is the bed? My sleeping has improved no end since we purchased a blissfully comfortable new mattress, mattress toppers are commonly used by boarders.

I use the Headspace app and there is a specific section for sleep and for waking up in the night. It sounds like someone in the room is causing her to feel unsettled / unable to properly relax. All the magic sprays in the world won't fix that.

My son used this, with meditation or sleep apps, might be useful
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/6043401?cmpid=GS001&$ja=tsid:59157%7Cacid:480-316-7430%7Ccid:199888953%7Cagid:17436843513%7Ctid:aud-484139255901:pla-323835311235%7Ccrid:74692319913%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:12217540710092323686%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:1o2%7Cmt:%7Cloc:1006520&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7obCyvWf3gIVq7ftCh1LLw85EAQYAiABEgKEofDD_BwE

I boarded and we had the odd incident of sleepwalking and/or sleeptalking - incidents like that can be pretty disturbing!