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StacyLynn
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| Posted: Jan 04 2007 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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I need some thoughts;
my 11 year old daughter cannot sleep at night. I have cut out caffine, she participates in sports dialy but at night she just cannot go to sleep.
She is awake for hours in her bed and cannot not get settled.
This is new, about 5 days.
Has anyone had this problem and what have you done about it?
Thanks ladies,
StacyLynn
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msclavel
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| Posted: Jan 04 2007 at 9:53am | IP Logged
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My almost eleven year old daughter has bouts of insomnia, inherited I think from her father who has struggled with it as far back as he can remember, even as a child. When she goes through it, we have learned to be patient. She never has caffeine. We discourage her from watching T.V. because despite what she thinks, this does little to help her fall asleep. If however, she is extremely frustrated she is allowed to watch food network (that's about the only thing appropriate late at night)for no more than an hour. She tries to read. This helps sometimes. She also tends to wander through the house, trying to sleep on different couches. This used to bother me, but I've learned to be patient. Vigorous exercise helps, tougher in the winter. Last night her father had her do a round of push-ups (getting fit for basketball season) in the evening and she was able to fall asleep much easier (she is in the middle of an insomnia bout). I have also learned to be patient with her during those days. She is not completely exhausted, rather very irritable and the smallest admonition can send her over the edge.
Hmmm, doesn't seem like this is too much help. I guess patience is key for us. Having a parent that has to deal with this often has helped her (and me to understand).
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MrsKey
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| Posted: Jan 04 2007 at 11:47am | IP Logged
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Actually this is quite normal and does not indicate insomnia. My dad, before his retirement, ran a sleep study lab and he and I talked about this. It is actually thought to be a normal shift in the circadian rhythm.
Teens (and pre-teens) tend to experience a shift in their circadian rhythm (body clock) that tells them when to sleep and when to be awake. The shift prompts their bodies to stay up later and wake up later.
Click Here for one article on this.
A couple more articles on this and how to change it can be found:
Here
Here
Here
and
This list of links about teen sleep.
Hope this helps.
P.S. Very vigorous exercise too close to bed time actually releases endorphines (adrenaline) and can make falling asleep harder. Regular exercise is important to good sleep patterns but it should be done earlier in the day to avoid messing with your sleep cycles (this goes for moms and dads too).
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Carole
Wife to Tom since '94 and mom to Bree since '96
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: Jan 07 2007 at 2:03pm | IP Logged
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We have had this from time to time as well. One thing that has helped is to soak in the tub with lavender essential oil. Also, camomile tea after bath, while listening to a read-aloud. At times we have also had the child go to bed with a warm hot water bottle. All of these things seem to help with relaxation and, thus, with being able to fall asleep.
Peace,
Nancy
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eschuetter
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| Posted: Jan 07 2007 at 2:19pm | IP Logged
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While I don't recommend it as a prayer routine 
- I used to say the Rosary to help me fall asleep as a pre-teen (actually, I bet I was about your daughter's age)... I'd tune my radio to the classical station that played great late-night, slow and dreamy music, and pray until I fell asleep. I guess you could say Our Lady rocked me to sleep.
HTH,
Erica
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doris
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| Posted: Jan 09 2007 at 2:25pm | IP Logged
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This is a very timely thread for me, because my eldest dd is having trouble getting to sleep at night. But she's only 6 so I don't think it's hormonal! But I've had a look at some of the really useful links above, and decided that she's just needing less sleep  Makes me nostalgic for the days when all three kids could be guaranteed to sleep for 12 hours solid!
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Home educating in London, UK with dd (2000) ds (2002), dd (2004), ds (2008) and dd (2011).
Frabjous Days
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Lisbet
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| Posted: Jan 09 2007 at 3:06pm | IP Logged
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My first thought was hormonal too, I've begun to notice some cylical occurances with my almost 10 year old daughter.
A hot cup of chamomile before bed, and some soothing aromas such as lavender or sandalwood?
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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Topic: my 11 year old daughter concerns
