My 7 year old doesn't sleep all night

[tiredbrightonmum]

Hi, I wonder if anyone else has had a similar problem. Our 7 year old son has no problems going to bed and getting to sleep but he wakes up two or three times during the night, roughly at the same times (2,3 or 4 in the morning). Recently he has woken at 5:00 saying he isn't tired and refuses to go back to sleep. He has always been an early riser (6:00/6:30) but we could cope with that as long as he slept through, but we are all feeling the effects of sleep deprivation now, it's as bad as when he was a newborn! We had a good few years of great sleep from him but it all seems to have gone wrong since he hit school age. We are careful about what he reads/watches before bed, he does not have a TV in his room and we have a set bedtime routine. There are no major worries or stresses that we are aware of. Any help or advice would be great appreciated, thank you!!

Is his room properly blacked out?

Hi - thanks for responding! Yes, his curtains are really dark and heavy so his actual room is dark. We have been leaving the landing light on for approx. a year, since he started having a few nightmares etc. and saying he didn't like the dark, that's the only light source he can see and it's not bright......

I would assume this is stress, and talk to him about relaxation and yoga breathing.

And I would probably take him to the GP, in case there was something physical going on.

Hi, thanks - yes, I've taken him to the GP twice, as he often says he has "tummy ache" during his episodes of waking, but there does not appear to be anything physically wrong. I do take him for osteopathy (to treat an old injury from a fall from a climbing frame) and the osteo says that the tummy pains may be stress related - this is often worse at night due to the body repairing and renewing itself. I like your suggestion of breathing techniques etc., will try that. I'm just wondering if this type of sleep disruption is common in this age group? All the info I've found relates to babies, not young children.

Just like to add my brother, who is now 35, has always been a poor sleeper. Nothing physical just someone who doesn't need a lot of sleep.
My parents were in despair when he was little but as he got to school age they more or less let him get up early and entertain himself with books and puzzles until everyone else woke.
I wanted to reassure you that there may be nothing wrong and you could teach him to entertain himself for an hour in the morning.

Thanks so much, I appreciate your response. In fact this morning he read his Star Wars annual from 5:30 until 6:00, then off he skipped downstairs hoping to watch CBBC! I just worry because he looks pale and tired and this could all become a habit. He says he is scared of the dark when he is awake at night, even at 5:30 when he is standing on the fully lit landing then 30 mins later he is happy and saying " it's 6 o'clock, time to get up, la la la la la" in the same level of light/darkness etc. which as you can imagine makes me and my husband less than impressed!!! Oh well, here's hoping it is just a phase!!!!

it could be stress but if he is complaining about tummy pains, it could also be reflux as waking early morning is very typical of reflux

I would take him back to the GP and see if they think this is a possibility as if so, you could always try some gaviscon/ranitidine from the doctor to see if it makes a difference (not sure what age you need a prescription for this or whether you can just buy it in the chemist at age 7 - I wouldn't try it unless under medical advice anyway).

Thanks foxinsocks, that's useful too. I will go back to GP, typically he only tried to treat the physical possibilities and didn't seem too interested in anything like anxiety etc. Am now preparing to tackle the supermarket on 4 hours sleep!!!