11 year old daughter never tired

[Elljo3]

For years now my DD never gets tired.

We have tyres all sorts of routines, iPad in bed, reading, DVD, tele, warm drink, music, you name it we tried it.

It's as if she never gets tired.

Also she always comes out of bed and we will get very different reasons as to why..... From needing a wee, even tho she just been, to having a headache,or can't get comfy.

Anyone have any ideas why she does this?

 

[messica]

Any electronic use will actually have the opposite effect. I'd not let her watch any tv, DVD's or use any ipad's at least an hour before bed.

Same would go for anything to eat or drink.

How far apart is dinner from bedtime? And what time does she usually lay down for bed and then get up each morning? Does she get up ok in the morning or is she usually pretty tired?

 

[cookette]

I'm with messica, cut the electronics. Is she active dyeing the day? Does she come home from school and park in front of the TV or is she physically active?

 

[Elljo3]

She is very active.

We have at least 3 hours before bedtime after evening meal. She has lights out at about 9:30 and up at 7 but isn't tired at all. The only way she gets a little tired is if she goes to bed after midnight and is up early for a few days then she will get tired.

 

[Rachel_C]

There's a difference between not being able to sleep and not being tired so I'd want to work out what it is. I suspect that if she's active and not going to be stupidly early, she's just not able to sleep (but is actually tired even if she doesn't feel it) so I'd cut the electronics, have a warm bath an hour before bed, try some essential oils like a little lavender oil, try getting her to write down anything worrying her/make lists of anything she needs to do or is thinking about so her mind is clear... basically the things an adult would do if they couldn't get to sleep. Also, I'd take the pressure off to sleep. Don't say "It's time to go to sleep now", just say "It's bedtime - you don't have to sleep but you do have to stay in bed".

 

[Elljo3]

Ok thanks.

She says she can never fall asleep easy and isn't tired.

I'm willing to try anything.

 

[Eternal]

Any electronic use will actually have the opposite effect. I'd not let her watch any tv, DVD's or use any ipad's at least an hour before bed.

Same would go for anything to eat or drink.

How far apart is dinner from bedtime? And what time does she usually lay down for bed and then get up each morning? Does she get up ok in the morning or is she usually pretty tired?

I agree with this, there is plenty of research to show electronic use has a detrimental affect on sleep before bed.

Maybe try going for a walk after tea time, and if you do a warm drink make sure it's over an hour before bed, reading is fine, but keep the house calm with TV OFF.

Good luck x

 

[Elljo3]

So I spoke to her about what we can do as all she said was it's going to change who I am, it's not fair.

So hoping this will work

 

[seoj]

Hopefully I understood right that she's just having a hard time getting to sleep at night? Is it possible she is just having a hard time shutting her brain down? I was the same way as a kid- I needed a lot of downtime prior to falling asleep. So the mornings were usually rough on me! Most nights I didn't "feel" tired because I was thinking about my day- and replaying events- or thinking abou the next days events... etc... etc... so even though my body was exhausted, mentally I was wide awake! I would eventually pass out- just took me a while. For me, reading in my room for a while helped a ton. It was a way for me to refocus my energy on something and keep from *thinking* about things too much- plus it would make me tired. Might be worth trying if she enjoys reading.

Otherwise, as other said- cut out all technology least 2yrs prior to bed- and try to keep her time prior to bed more calm and relaxing. She's old enough to understand what time she needs to be in her room and what times is lights out.

My SD (our oldest) has anxiety- so she used to come up with all sorts of reasons to come out of her room at night-- since being in there alone was something that triggered it. Some nights I would just sit in there with her for a while and we'd chat about our day- then sing a silly song. I had her try reading at bedtime- since it helped me as a kid- and it worked well for her most nights too. We just kept a small bedside light on so it didn't strain her eyes- but kept the room dark enough.

IDK- just some thought. Best of luck.

 

[Elljo3]

I never thought of anxiety, I suffer badly with it so she may too.

I'm going to try keep a dairy of it all to see if anything certain things trigger it off or anything like that.

Thank you everyone for all your help xx

 

[SerenityNow]

My eldest has never slept as much as kids are supposed to. She just doesn't. We don't watch any television or movies during the week, she may have some homework that requires the computer but she has to have it done before dinner. She is super active and plays sports 3 afternoons a week plus games on the weekends. She has always been a pretty early riser, too. She's up on her own by 6:30 and might sleep until 8 on a weekend.

I've stopped trying to fight it. She just doesn't seem to need as much sleep as she is suppose to. We let her read as long as she wants before falling asleep. She's very well read! LOL When she was younger she would listen to audio books instead.