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View Full Version : Insomnia in a 4.5 year old?



KrisM
10-31-2008, 07:23 AM
About 1-2 times a week, I wake up to find DS downstairs, watching TV or on the computer. I have him trained to remember the numbers on the clock on the stove, and it's usually around 3am when he gets up. He gets himself some yogurt or cereal and has breakfast. He says he just can't get back to sleep, so he goes downstairs.

Some days, he falls asleep about 5:30 or 6. Other times, he makes it to bedtime, which is 7-7:30. He doesn't nap, even on those early morning days. His normal wake-up time is about 6-6:30, so this is about 3 hours early.

I don't know what is causing his wakefullness. If I or DH hear him going down, we'll go down with him and lay down on the couch. We've tried to get him back to sleep, but he's really wide awake.

Any ideas what we could try to eliminate this? It's not a big problem, as he doesn't seem too affected by a short-night sleep, but I think it's not good still.

DrSally
11-01-2008, 04:06 PM
Hmmm, that's interesting. Is your DS a 70 year old man?
His internal clock just seems off. Is there any way you can get him to stay up later and see if that helps it work itself out? At least it's not causing major problems for him. My Weissbluth book is packed away. I wonder what he says about childhood "insomnia"?

KrisM
11-01-2008, 07:26 PM
Ha ha. I think he is an old man :).

Even well rested, he is tired at the end of the day. We'll give it a try to keep him up and maybe it'll fix itself.