9 year old suddenly having problems sleeping

[nuitdesetoiles]

Hello,
I wondered if anyone had any advice. My 9 year old son has started waking in the night and struggling to drop back off which results in him coming in my bed in sheer desperation! He then falls asleep immediately. I know I need to do something about this. He falls asleep quickly at bedtime usually wakes up around 4 am or that's when he comes into me. He's extremely sensitive and emotionally intuitive. I know he's been bullied previously at school and struggles socially with big, loud groups of boys. I've noticed at drop off he sticks by my side and clings to me he won't run off with his friends like he used to. My dh is now working away during the week and I think he misses him, plus he worries about me being ok as things have been tough recently financially.

He's now got himself into a pickle worrying about sleep which is obviously perpetuating the issue. I know (a bit!) how to deal with baby sleep issues, and my own horrible insomnia which is an ongoing problem but unclear how to proceed with a 9 year old. Any suggestions gratefully received.

as someone who has suffered from sleep problems myself

-visualisation (coach him to imagien himself walking through a 'happy place' ...a garden, a beach, a forest.....and focus on all the sensations colours and smells) you can maybe practice this with him during the day time so he gets the hang of it

-muscle tensing and relaxing..start from toes clench and relax and slowly move all the way up to your head

-come into his bedroom and talk him through some guided visualisations eg ' your floating down a peacful river' etc etc or find one on cd that he can put on with headphones maybe? (there are lots of free ones)

Could you leave him a phone or tablet beside his bed that has short story audiobooks on it, or an audiobooks app that will just play single chapters of a book then stop, and if he wakes up and can't get back to sleep, he can turn that on (expecting that he'll fall asleep part way through)? It might wake you up but you'd probably rather that than he get into bed with you

Tell your kid everything is going to be ok and report those bullies

Op when I was waking up at early hours of the morning and unable to get back to sleep, my gp said it was a sign of depression. I had anxiety too.
I'm not saying your son is depressed but it's worth speaking to someone, or trying counselling. He sounds like he could be anxious or worrying a lot. My ds is the same.
He has a white noise machine to help him relax and tune out, we also talk about how your thoughts affect you. He is always 'what if this happens, what if this goes wrong', we have many talks of me saying 'but what if it goes right.' I reiterate to him all the time too that he is not to worry about adult problems, I am the adult and I'm there to sort things.
How bad is the school situation?

muscle tensing and relaxing..start from toes clench and relax and slowly move all the way up to your head
I agree with this plus music that comforts me. Any music that comforts us.