He won't sleep 😴

[Oneverytiredmummy]

Hello,
Does anybody have any advice on how to get my almost 7 year old to stay in bed longer in the morning and stop waking through the night?

He's never been a great sleeper, I absolutely exhausted after years of the same thing.

He settles well at night in going to sleep (about 7.30) but he is waking every hour or 2 through the night and will get up for the day at about 5am.
We've tried earlier/later bedtime this has no change and he gets up the same time and is exhausted if he's not had enough sleep which is often.
Snack before bed, drink near bed in case he's thirsty, no screen time during day, talking to him about it, he has a clock and knows that 6.30am is an acceptable time to wake so everybody else can get sleep. He has books in his room to read. But once he gets up that's it, he's noisy, talking loudly, banging about.
This morning he went into his younger brother and woke him up. Now it's not even 7am and everybody is grumpy and tired still!

If anybody has anything they can suggest. I've tired everything I can think of but nothing is helping. It's been going on for years and his behaviour, concentration, meltdowns are getting worse because he's not getting the sleep he needs.

TIA

I was going to ask if there were any other concerns but I see he has meltdowns. He’s getting to an age where meltdowns are becoming unusual. Does he have them in front of friends?

How is he in school? Have they raised any concerns?

And is he getting plenty of daylight and exercise?

Hi @Oneverytiredmummy my son is 5.5 and still wakes in the night. He doesn't get up super early quite as much now, but that's only because he's regularly awake until almost 10pm as he finds it so hard to wind down! But it still happens, even with later bed times, especially if he's worried or excited about things.

We do everything too - fresh air, no tablet at all, no TV after 5/6pm, supper, stories at bedtime to help him settle, black out blinds with curtains etc.

If he does wake before 6am (like your son, once he's up he's up) I stay in bed with him and we read or listen to an audio book until 6 then it's ok to get up. He won't stay in his room alone, he has some additional needs so it's tricky with some stuff.

This might go totally against the grain and I expect some back lash, but have you tried giving him melatonin tablets? My friends son has ADHD and doesn't sleep, the doc prescribed low dose melatonin, which you can just buy without a prescription. She said its changed her life. Its just a natural hormone we all produce to help us fall asleep but some people don't make enough 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have one who wakes often (but younger), and we find gentle music playing helps her go back off herself. Or maybe nature sounds or white noise?

How confident are you that the concentration and meltdown issues are just due to lack of sleep, or could they be part of a bigger picture?

Thank you all for your replies. Not sure how much of his behaviour whilst awake is contributed to the lack of sleep.

I've been pushing for autism/ADHD referral for a couple of years (my husband is diagnosed and there's a few similarities) but we've been fobbed off a lot and school aren't really helping out and say he's fine and it's just part of normal growing up he's 'just an enthusiastic boy who can be a bit sensitive'.

Not sure how much of it is linked but we're all so tired and just need to sleep 😂

@dontcomeatme I've had someone at work suggest this today too. Are you able to buy them or do you need a Drs prescription? Lady at work says her daughter is prescribed. Honestly willing to try anything at this point if it's just a natural supplement

I would start insisting on a referral! This will just get worse as he gets older without a diagnosis or at least the beginning of figuring it out.

You can get it on prescription, or you can just buy the supplement online! I'm pretty sure they do kid gummies too, but don't quote me on that ha! They really do work though I would definitely try x

If your DH has been diagnosed as having AuDHD then it’s very likely that your DS has inherited it too.

I would start by doing this simple progress checker. Let us know if it says he needs some support.

Then start to write a list of the things he struggles with, like sleep, maybe communication, regulation and social interaction. Does he have any issues with food too?

Once you have your list make a GP appointment and ask for a referral onto the ASD pathway.

School were hopeless for with us. Refused to listen and would not refer.