Sleep Problems:

Oh, Sleep! Precious Sleep! We appreciate it so much when we are not getting enough of it! There are many reasons a child may not be sleeping well. Children with FASD and Down’s Syndrome have the commonality of difficult sleep patterns. Some kids take medications that interfere with sleep. Other children sleep too much. How do we know what is normal and what is not?

A child who does not sleep through the night will not be rested enough and will not be as productive in the daytime. Behaviors may escalate, learning may be inhibited. Here are some practical ideas to help your child get better rest.

The basics of good sleep habits are the starting block. Start with a consistent bedtime and waking time. Continue this through the weekends and breaks if your child has difficulty sleeping.

Make sure that foods and drinks are not a stumbling block to good sleep. Check for hidden caffeine in drinks. Stop caffeinated drinks after 4:00pm, even earlier if needed. This is a trial and error process.

Exercise Daily, but DO NOT EXERCISE WITHIN TWO HOURS OF BEDTIME. Early exercise will help you sleep, but exercising too close to bedtime will cause you to be wide awake.

Reduce light and noise in the bedroom. Our bodies are trained to the cycle of the sun. Opening the shades in the morning will help wake a child, and darkening shades can help a child sleep.

Give an electronics break at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Give those brains a chance to relax after watching tv or playing video games.

These are the basics. Now, here are more suggestions that have been tried with individual success by other parents.

Age 0-3

Graduated Extinction. This is a fancy name for letting the little guy cry it out. Check on him periodically to make sure that the baby is OK, and not wet, hungry, etc.

Fading. This is a fancy way of describing letting the child stay up until they are tired. Infants run on their own schedule and this emphasizes an individual sleep cycle for the child, even as they get older. Not recommended for children with neurological differences from a typical child.

Sleep when your preschooler sleeps, if possible, to catch up on your own zzz’s. This will help you maintain your patience when you need it.

Age 4-12

Nightlights: Some kids are afraid of the dark. Let him have a nightlight. Try Christmas string lights. One parent used blinking lights and it helped.

Massage: Who doesn’t sleep better when they have a nice backrub or a head rub?

Deep pressure: Try sleeping under a Super Heavy blanket. Some kids crave deep pressure and love the weight.

Try a Light Blanket: Some kids are just the opposite, and need to sleep with the barest of touch on them. Experiment with what your child likes.

Books on CD

Mummify: Try a mummy sleeping bag and totally enclose your child.

Super Dark: Buy a tent that goes over your child’s bed to make things even more dark and enclosed.

Sound: Try headphones with music that calms your child. This does not necessarily mean classical music. My son craves deep pressure and loves the sound of music with heavy bass beats. He used to lean against the speaker in the living room and soak up the sound.

Fan/White noise: Some kids sleep better with white noise. It can drown out the sputtering furnace and the creaky rafters.

Anxiety kid? Move them into a bedroom close to Mom and Dad. Have them share a bedroom with a sibling. If needed, and you are OK with it, let the child sleep in your room. My son is 12, and sometimes sleeps in our room on an air mattress when he is feeling really anxious.

Quiet Box: Teach your child that it is OK to awake in the night, and that they should try to sleep. But, if they are not tired, they can choose from things in the Quiet Box to play with quietly. Leaving the bed or bedroom is not allowed (other than to the toilet). Then, as they tire, they can lie down and continue to sleep.

No naps during the day!

A nice warm bath works wonders.

A warm glass of milk can help trigger sleep.

Controlled breathing. My son practices breathing in slowly and exhaling slowly. He concentrates on his breathing and nothing else. It helps to quiet a busy brain.

Finger Squishies. Basically, this is an occupational therapy technique of applying slow joint compressions to the fingers.

Decrease the temperature in the room. The temp of the room should be slightly cool. After a cycle of sleep, our body temperature raises slightly, which triggers the brain to wake. If you are having trouble waking a child, you can try upping the thermometer in the morning.

Medication: Herbal sublingual Melatonin or a prescribed medication from your pediatrician.

Age 13 – adult

Try any of the above suggestions and read on for more

Medication: Tylenol PM is basically Tylenol with Benadryl added, and is non-habit forming.

Teens are usually sleeping all the time, with all that growing and changing going on. I have had one child that continued on with the sleep disruption. We make him stay in his room (he roams otherwise), and allow him to stay up later in the evenings.

Consistent bedtimes are still the key to good sleep. I read recently that humans have a 25 hour sleep cycle. This explains why it is easy for us to stay up an hour later at night, and have such difficulty going to bed earlier. Teens can easily stay up an hour later every night---but seven days later you have a kid who stays up all night long.

Cut back on the electronics. Kids now are so wired from the video input. Stop playing 30-60 minutes before bedtime and give the child enough “down” time to relax.

As we age, we need less sleep, but this doesn’t occur until after age 40. Some people are morning people and some are night owls. As teens and young adults, we need to recognize that your child may have a different sleep cycle than yours and adjust accordingly. Teens tend to need more sleep in general, but each child is different.

Progressive relaxation techniques work really well. There is a book called Cool Cats, Calm Kids by Mary L. Williams (LINK) that teaches relaxation for young children.

Consistent exercise and a healthy diet can help with sleeplessness. Again, watch for hidden caffeine or other stimulants in drinks and foods.