I have a 10 year daughter who was diagnosed with anxiety almost 2 years ago. She is on medication and has been for over 18 months. For the last 4 weeks or so, she has had some major issues surrounding bedtime and sleeping. She just does not want to sleep.
I understand that bedtime can be hard when you have anxiety, as your mind goes into overdrive, but this constant battle is taking its toll on the whole family.
I don't want to have to give her sleeping tablets and we have tried everything. She has relaxation music on every night, we have tried natural "sleep" remedies. The only way we can get her to fully calm down and go to sleep is if either mum or dad lays with her until she is totally out. However, I feel that this will be detrimental to her if we keep this up..what happens if she gets invited for sleepovers or school camp?
Many thanks in advance...
How do I get my anxious 10year old to sleep??
How do I get my anxious 10year old to sleep??
Posted in:
Mental Health, Anxiety & Depression, Kids
3 Replies
Did she see a psychologist and did they teach her body check or meditation exercises? If not there are some great apps that do a guided relaxation designed for bedtime.
I wouldn't worry about sleep overs and camps for now. She can't go on either of those things if she is an anxious ball off exhausted mess anyhow.
I'd find the app, and start doing with her everynight in bed. Then you can ween yourself out of the process. So let her settle down and learn the technique, then be further away from her bed until you aren't in the room.
If it comes to it there are some natural medications, like melatonin, that teaches the brain to switch off. Melatonin is the chemical in the brain that tells you to go to sleep. A lot of anxious children don't produce enough of the substance and find melatonin helpful. Don't buy over the counter, as it's almost impossible to tell how much active ingredient they put in various brands. Get a script from the doctor if you go down that route. It won't make her groggy or anything.
The thing when dealing with anxiety is not to worry about 'what if in the future' just give her what she needs now, if that's a person to help her go to sleep that seems worth it and quite achievable, a possible future sleepover wouldn't even weigh in.
For the record she will probably be ok on a sleepover because she's got someone in the room with her there too.
Go and see a naturopath and get a magnesium powder. Or ask a naturopath at a chemist to make sure you get a good one. Needs to be an amino acid chelate. We need magnesium for serotonin to melatonin conversion to be able to switch off at night. Will be great for her anxiety too.