Son not sleeping

[bransmomma]

My 3 1/2 yr. old son was up most of the night last night. After I put him to bed at 9pm I woke up at 12am and found his tv turned on. Then at 2:30am I heard a noise and jumped out of bed and he was playing w/ legos and had the lights on. I can never get him to sleep through the night. He always wakes up and plays or comes into my bed. Does anyone know if this is associated w/ ADHD? I just started him on the Neuro DHA pills yesterday. Will those help him sleep better? Any other alternatvies I could try?

Thanks.

[catseye]

Not saying this could be a sign, but sd8 has always done this... Not every night but 2-3 a month or so... Luckily she is fairly independent like your son, and does not necessarily interrupt the rest of the families sleep (unless she gets excessively loud or something)... She also watches t.v., plays with toys etc...

If it is getting excessive I would give him more fresh air outside time in the early evening... Let him run free for a while, hopefully that will tire your little guy out... Also you didnt say he is eating, but a later at night snack may help... Good luck

cat

[bransmomma]

Thanks Cat. He usually does have a snack before bed and didn't last night so maybe he was hungry. Thank you for the advice.

[mskris]

Hello:

You're describing my daughter, who is NOT adhd...but she doesn't play, just joins us in bed on a nightly basis. She's 51/2!

DS, adhd/TS, has always been a good sleeper until just the last couple of weeks. I know when he's not getting enough sleep because he has night terrors when he's overtired. A few times last week, he snuck downstairs after we put him to bed. He's 8. We talked about it, and I don't think he's done it so far this week, but he had another terror last night, so he's either working on a deficit, still staying up after being put to bed, or he's not getting the quality of sleep he was before. I'm not sure which it is.

As for your ds, I'd suggest taking the tv out of his room first. Remove or put away all toys so there is no temptation. Is this new behavior? If so, it may be a phase and will pass in time. Does he have a nightlight? Both my kids do and I sometimes think they're more likely to wake up with the light on than without it? I'm going to try going into their rooms after they're asleep and shutting it off.

Good luck. Is your son taking any medications? If so, stimulants can cause insomnia.

Kris

[Honeysmom]

Neither of my kids sleep through the night Honey is 4 and Meko is 2. Meko starts out in her bed and comes down into ours by about 4:00. Honey sleeps wherever he falls. If they give him a nap at school he may not go to sleep until 1:00 or so. He does have a TV in his room and will either watch that or play outside our bedroom door with toys. I always know he is there b/c I do not sleep through the night myself, I never have.

I know Honey does not sleep through the night b/c he is just wound up. Maybe your son just was not tired. Does he take a nap? Honey hasn't needed a nap since he was 3 yo, and then only for 15 minutes or so, and Meko only takes one for 20 minutes. If he is napping he might be getting too much sleep during the day.

[bransmomma]

My son gets a nap everyday at day care for about 1.5 hours. Some days I get reports that he is bothering other children and simply won't settle down and take a nap. Maybe he doesn't need as much sleep as other children. I'm glad to see I'm not the only parent whose children are up in the middle of the night. He has started being scared at night and I bought him another night light. It is so light in his room I don't know how he sleeps but w/o it he is scared. Maybe I should try turning the night lights off after he falls asleep. Thank you everyone for your stories. It helps a lot.

[Amsmom]

My 7 yr old son also uses a really bright night light. It's actually a lamp that shines a pale blue light all over the room. One time the bulb burned out while he was sleeping and when he woke up to come into my room(as he always does), he was really freaked that his night light was out. Just wanted you to be aware of that possiblility if you turn it off while your son is sleeping.

[AnneM]

Hi!! From my understanding this is a pretty common adhd symptom.... (and a really tiring and annoying one for you!!) ... My own son (15 years old) is add (without the "H") and is therefore pretty much the opposite ... i.e. he can sleep and sleep and has problems getting "going" in the mornings .... I think its the "H" in adhd which causes this alertness !!

I'm sorry because I know I am not adding any good advice but some of the others have and hopefully others will too!!

[~ free * spirit ~]

According to my mother I rarely slept, when I did it was a couple hours during the day or late evening. I am a night person and always have been. Apparently when I was a baby/toddler I would insist on being awake ALL NIGHT. Even as a newborn I rarely slept at all. I think that this may be associated with certain subtypes of ADD.

[Kymn]

My son gets his last dose of ritalin at 530 or 6 in the evening and his bedtime is at 830 so by the time the meds wear off and he goes into rebound mode he is already sound asleep.I have heard this doesnt work for all kids but for Derek its great.this way his brain is calmed down enough to concentrate on sleeping.Just a though
Have a great day
Kymn

[Mishamom]

My Emily sounds very similar to your situation. She was getting very little sleep but seemed very unaffected by it. However...I was!! We had to rethink the lock situation at home, re-babyproof the house (she's five now but this started to get bad when she was 3) and reorganize the kitchen cupboards to stop the midnight food raids and messes.

Our pediatrician suggested putting her on Melatonin. Since then she has taken 1.5 mg of Melatonin sublingual. Currently we're using a spray that goes under her tongue. On bad nights she gets two spritzes. We have seen no ill affects nor read any actual literature saying it is dangerous. Just the usual comments repeated on the internet so I've become comfortable with it. Oh...I give her the Melatonin 45 to 60 minutes before bedtime.

She may start medication for her ADHD next week so this may all change soon...I just wanted to tell you what has worked for us. Good luck!!

[marcelsmom]

My son is 14 1/2 years old and does not sleep well. This is something his doctor gets him meds for. He can sleep only 2-4 hours without it. It seems like he is awake all the time. I am tried but he has more energy than anyone I know. When he sleep about 2-4 hours, he acts like he slept all night. My son is has a sleeping disorder, depression, hypertension(high blood pressure) and having seasonal allergies. All has side effects but he takes meds for all of them. Sometimes I dont want to give him his meds but have to

[weskie]

Wow, does this topic take me back! DS, 20, ADHD, didn't sleep through the night until he was almost four. He has always had trouble getting to sleep--when he was small, sometimes he would lie awake for more than two hours. Then, in the morning, he would not be able to wake up. He was diagnosed with DSPS (Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, or "extreme night owl") and prescribed bright lights in the am to try to "reset" his internal clock. We really gave this a try, but it did not help at all. At 20, he still has these problems, and tends to stay awake all night and sleep much of the day when he can. I have never slept well (and neither did my mother), so I suspect he inherited some of this. ADHD drugs only aggravate the problem.
DD, 25, ADD, falls asleep the minute her head touches the pillow--Ritalin isn't a significant problem for her as far as sleeping goes. She's like DH, also an ADDer, who conks out in 30 seconds! They don't know how lucky they are!!!

[beautymama]

oh my goodness, my son is 5 1/2 and is ADHD/ODD. we have just taken him of Ritalin LA and the genetric form and changed to ADDERALL and a new sleep med. too soon to know if and when it will work but one night he was up and feed the dog fruit snacks, marshmellows and peanut butter right from his fingers. yes, the dog was vomitting the next day. made an adjustment on the meds. Next night he was up, ate more fruit snacks, let the dog out of the kennel, cut up a fleece blanket, cut up tiny pieces and the dog ate them too. The dog also vomitted today, is at the vet clinic for over night observations. as if that is not enought he then cut his hair. So TONIGHT the scissors are up high and out of sight, the knives are no longer in teh drawer, the teacher is notified of the med changes, the snacks and peanut butter are rearranged in teh cupboards,a nd i got out the baby moniter so maybe i would hear him when he GETS up. I dn't know about you but I think this is pretty much a true picture of ADHD without proper medications. Praying for a good night sleep tonight. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

MM's mom M is 5 and M is 4.

[finnmom]

:)Beautymomma.
Sound´s like you´re quite busy at night´s I think babymonitor is good idea, if he tend´s to make those thing´s you need to know when he´s awake.

I dont really know what would help... rutine´s, good snack and enough time to settle down before bed time are the only thing´s that come´s to my mind right now. Some have used melatonin, but I´am not sure if it can be used for so young...

Luckily for me, my adhd ds has always been a good sleeper(if you count out that ½y with night terror´s), so is my dd3, BUT dd6 with no adhd what so ever, is the kind of a girl who´ll keep herself up as long as simply possible.....annoing All my kid´s do wonder to our bed(older one´s really rarely these day´s) so I, too know what you´re talking about.