SOS My seven-year-old can't get to sleep

[milkybliss]

I am at my wit's end, as my seven-year-old can't drop off; despite going to bed at 8pm, she's still awake at 10pm. She's evidently tired, but can't get to sleep, as a result she's exhausted (and grumpy) in the mornings and has purple rings round her eyes.
We read to her, she reads to herself (nothing too exciting) but she still can't wind down enough to fall asleep.
So many people have remarked on how peaky she looks, that I took her to the doctor, who ran blood tests and concluded there was nothing wrong with her.
I've been taking her to craniosacral, and they have said her system is over-adrenalized (?) but it's not really solving the problem.
Her joie de vivre (never mind her concentration at school) is being affected...any advice / theories / gratefully received!

Massage with base oil plus 2 drops of lavender before bed. Learn to do the massage yourself and make it part of the bed time routine, and start early enough to take it slowly.

Relaxation techniques, as taught in ante natal classes.

Relaxation tapes/cds at bed time.

She probably needs to start winding down at about 7pm.

What is on her mind? Is everything ok at school, at home??

Adrenalin is a stress hormone, so what is the cause of the stress?

Thanks for this, I'll get some lavender and start a winding down routine this weekend...no idea where stress comes from, nothing major I'm aware of...
She's very active, tho' and constantly doing gymnastics on the furniture, maybe that leaves her feeling a bit wired...? MB

i have a little boy whos 5 hes also very active plays a lot of sport and im lucky if hes a sleep before midnight. last night he finally went to sleep at quater to 2 this morning.
most days i walk round feeling like a zombie juggling trying to get him to sleep then up again with a 12 week old through the night. think i too shall give the lavender a go.

Gymnastics not a good idea before bed. If you think about it, jogging or going to the gym really wakes you up. It sounds as if she needs to get that out of her system before 6 pm. Can she go for a run or something before then?

BTW 2 drops of lavender in a tablespoonful of carrier oil is the maximum dose.

Cut out refined sugar, artificial sweetners, and anything with caffeine after noon -- includes chocolate, chocolate milk, hot chocolate, tea, etc.

Thank you for all these contributions, all gratefully received. Ches: I can't think of any caffeine she might ingest - do Bourbon creams count?
You're right abut the gymnastics, 3littlefrogs but short of sitting on her, there's not much I can do to get her to stop...I popped one of those lavender bears in the microwave, to scent her room delicately, but all it smells of is grease...
You have my sympathy starynight...I got my wee one to sleep (now ten months) by pumping her full of milk at 11pm and intend to do it until she's 12. Years, not months.