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Sleeplessness and Sleep ProblemsNOTICE: The following posts are taken from the Christian ADHD List. The names, e-mail addresses and locations of all parties involved have been removed to protect their privacy. The posts have been used with permission, but are copyrighted by ADHD of the Christian Kind. Updated July 2008 In the past, I've consulted with my friends here in our group regarding my children's bedtime issues. We've tried rewards and consequences, more consequences, etc, but nothing seemed to work. My dh and I have explained repeatedly to our psychiatrist that having meds in the evening didn't keep our ds up any later than not having anything. Meds seemed better as they calmed him down at night, versus having nothing, and him swinging from the bunkbed - he falls asleep at the same time, regardless. Recently, I spoke with his pediatrician about the issue, and she recommended a small dose of melatonin in the evenings, about 30-40 minutes before bedtime. It's a natural chemical produced in the brain that calms a person down, aiding the individual to fall asleep. She cited that many dr.s on the east coast are recommending it for children with ADHD for our precise bedtime issue. It's been great for everyone. So, QUESTION: Are many of you on the east coast using melatonin? Are others seeing the benefit, or consequences of it? Please share. Canada reporting in and we use melatonian... it was the only thing we felt safe to do and our son never slept past an entire hour at a time for the first 7 years. Now he takes it about 45 minutes before bed and falls asleep and stays asleep. We get to sleep too so the bonus is for both of us. He now get to have deep sleep which he never had before the meds. I have used melatonin for both of my children, one with ADHD and one with Autism for a year now. It works beautifully! My 10 year old has had some extreme cycles of falling asleep, and horrible Am's. We have used the melatonin also, it worked for a while. When he was younger I found the "Floppy Sleep" CD. It was great because it gently talked him through a process of learning to fall asleep. I also had to by a new CD player, the older one was "clicking" too loud, and would awaken him just after he fell asleep, or was in a total relaxed state. He was very reactive to sensory issues for many years./p> Is Melatonin Safe for Children? Response from Laurie Scudder, MS, RN-C, PNP Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in a primary care pediatric practice, Columbia, Md. Original Discussion: I have a ?? for the group. Meds also help my son get to sleep. Although lately not as well as when he first began taking them. He can take as long as an hour and a half to fall asleep. During this time he is going to the bathroom a half a dozen times and playing with anything he can drag into his bed. This is an improvement! It used to take longer. We have read bedtime books (he now listens to books on tape), said prayers, rubbed his back and stood on our heads to get him to sleep. I feel bad for him because it is definitely not something that he would chose. He envys the rest of us who fall asleep easily. Any one have any suggestions? Suggestions regarding the sleeping problem: Although _____ (14.5-ADD) has been off Ritalin for more than a year, he still has trouble falling asleep. My chiropractor suggested Melatonin. Unbelievable that a natural enzyme that is also cheap works so well. He's asleep in less than 1/2 hour if he takes it (3 mg) about 30 minutes before bed. I can even see him getting sleepier. I am pretty adamant about changing kids' personalities with drugs to get them to fit into an outsiders' mold. (I guess that's the main reason he's homeschooled.) But because Melatonin is a naturally occuring enzyme in our bodies, I'm ok with supplementing my son's apparent lack of it. (No different than vitamins, to me) On sleeping, when _____ was little, he would sing himself to sleep, his sister, who shared a room with him then, would complain, and I found out, accidentally, that having the dryer on at bedtime helped him to sleep. In the summer, he wants the air conditioner on. That is not practical here in the winter, Ohio can get cold, and we didn't need the extra cold air, even when it was on fan, so we used to argue a lot at the change of seasons. Sometimes I just but a wet washcloth in the dryer to help him sleep, and to shut him up!! Now of course, I understand why. The noise of the dryer and air conditioner helped to drown out the distractioning sounds, and by focusing on the constant hum, he could relax and go to sleep. What he listens to now, and it helps a lot, is relaxing music, sounds, of rain and piano mixed, or whales singing, or other such types. You can get them at Wal-Mart for approximately $7.00. I find that they help him to in doing his school work, a quiet paced tape helps him to slow down, and a faster paced tape helps him to get done faster, as he keeps pace the beat, or rhythm. The sleepless nights, fits of rage, depression etc. What we did for our daughter was no medicaton, monitored her diet and activities, and gave her Melatonin, 500mcg plus vitamin B-6, one tablet before bed each night. It made a world of difference in her behavior. She was finally sleeping. No more up all nights and wanting to sleep from noon on. After about 4 days she was getting so she was waking up happy and smiling and calm. Not that it ended all our problems with her. This is NOT a quick fix...but she did sleep at night and felt better, she even became easier to manage during the day. The battles got easier because she was more managable and I was finally getting some sleep also. Another report on Melatonin: my 16yo son has taken Ritalin on and off for three years. In June he started Paxil (anti-depressant) and has taken virtually no Ritalin since. I've also been giving him a B-Complex vitamin and 1000mg of vitamin C daily. The Paxil really helped him to exercise self-control (although he hates the idea of taking medication) and his mood swings mellowed out considerably. But for several weeks he had been complaining of not being able to get to sleep and after checking with his doctor and listening to those of you who liked Melatonin he took it for the first time Thursday night. He loved it! He said he got a wonderful night's sleep, didn't lie awake at all. He said "This is the first time in a long, long time that my brain hasn't felt foggy and clogged up when I got up in the morning." Sleep deprivation makes it difficult for anyone to function well; it puts considerable stress on our children who are already struggling with distractibility, impulsive behavior, mood swings, etc. My doctor said that since Melatonin is not regulated the quality varies considerably in various brands. She suggested 2.5 or 3 mcg tablets. We tried the 3. She said that Melatonin would not interfere with the Paxil and that she was glad for _____ to try it - she did say, however, that it doesn't do anything for some people, so not to get our hopes up. Updated March 30, 1998 Here is what I found when I did a search on Melatonin: I think this site explained that it is not recommended for children because it might interfere with the hormones necessary for puberty. Get Check-Up Before Jumping on Melatonin Bandwagon
Possible effects of prolonged use of melatonin It is not for use by children, teenagers, pregnant or lactating women. Side effects: Lingering grogginess; may worsen any existing depression. After reading about Melatonin and _____'s warning about its use with children, I think we need to clear nutritional supplements with our children's doctors before starting something new because of the possible side effects, interactions with present medications (there was a warning about taking Melatonin with Prozac on one site). On the sleep, someone had suggested melatoin (spelling?) for sleep aid (see warnings above), and I have read several articles that say it helps. My family doctor says that herbs help some people, but to check your sources, and dosages. Some one else also said that lavender helped their child to sleep. They put some on a cotton ball, and put it in the pillowcase, and it helped the child to relax, so they could go to sleep easier. I think that Kava Kava is also another herb that is supposed to help you sleep. I haven't tried the melatoin yet, but I am about to, as _____ stays up so late, and then wants to sleep late in the morning, and claims he is tired. NOTE: Kava Kava and Melatonin are not recommended for children. Always consult your physician before giving your child any type of over-the-counter supplements. Updated October 26, 1998 The verdict on melatonin is still out and my psychologist even recommended it for _____ but I told her I wasn't comfortable with using it. Maybe the pediatric psychiatrist will be able to help me decide what would be best to help _____ sleep. Poor guy just can't go to sleep at night. And yes, it is worse since he started back on the stimulants. But I will not stop the stimulants because _____ can control himself much better on the Adderall. We are still searching for good answers to the sleep problem. I don't know if a Pediatrician would prescribe it for a child, but when _____ was at his worst during the depression and suicidal, I suffered from insomnia very badly. My GP prescribed an old antidepressant for me, just to take at bedtime--because they make you sleepy and aren't addictive. Mine is (generic) Trazodone. It has certainly helped me, although some mornings I really have a hard time getting up. Maybe it's worth asking about anyway? _____ is on Adderall, and they put him on Clonidine to help him sleep, and they gave him Desiprime, for his depression, and it also helps him to sleep. I don't know if they haven't suggested it for _____, as he is only 8, but you could discuss it with the psych. And since you will be taking to a child psych. he will know better what will be safest for him, and work best. We have to use Catapress with two of our boys too, to get them to sleep. It works wonderfully for them. I also have to allow my 5 year old to have the light on while he is in bed and "read" himself to sleep. He is crashed within 1/2 hour. Guess he takes after me, I have to read right before I go to sleep too. _____ has always had Clonidine in addition to Adderall. The Clonidine helps him sleep. I still wonder sometimes about the meds, but I did try to take him off of them and that was not a good thing either. Have you tried Clonidine for _____? One of the things that I learned, when we were discovering _____'s disorders, was that he didn't sleep very good, not because of physical hyperness, but of mental hyperness. The mind is full of thoughts, memories, and emotions from the day. And when he laid down, they overwhelmed him. Plus, all the "sounds" that normies can ignore are amplified for the ADDers. So where a normal person would not hear the creak of the walls, as the wood settles from the heat of the day into the cool of the night, or the heating system kicking on, or off and the metal making its sounds as it cools down, the sound of the hot water tank as it heats up the water, the drip of the faucet, a ADDer child will hear this, and it will keep him/her awake. Before we knew that _____ was ADHD, we would fight with him over having an air conditioner on at night, or the radio going. And if that was not running, then he would want us to put some clothes in the dryer, and turn it on. Now, of course, we know that the white noise of these (a/c or dryer) block out the other noises, and he can listen to the radio, let the music cover up the thoughts in his head, and he will relax and go to sleep. We also found that if we played relaxing music on his radio, the type you can pick up at Wal-Mart that is just sounds of oceans, or rain, or wind blowing, can relax him, and he will go to sleep, and some classical music will do the same. This also helped with him in the homeschooling, when he would do some of his work. If he listened to it, while he was doing some hard to concentrate areas, it helped him to relax, and he could do it better. The soothing sound of the rain, or tides, or whale songs calmed him down, so he could focus better. These are just suggestions, but you can try them, they may help. Let them listen to the music while relaxing, and they might drift off, and have a better sleep. Or while doing school work, and they are frustrated, and can't seem to get the answers, let them listen to the music, and they might slow down, keeping with the slow, smooth rhythm and get the work done, and be in a better mood when finished. Now that you mention it, he does sleep much better, and longer, when the air conditioner is on in his room -- and falls asleep easier when listening to music. We compiled a cassette for him of all of his favorite contemporary Christian songs (old Amy Grant, Rich Mullins, Jana Alayra -- many that we listen to also) and they are very soothing, comforting and relaxing. I think that helps too. I'm saving your message because it was very helpful !! Since I haven't seen a whole lot of posts regarding the question of SIGNIFICANT effects of LACK of sleep on the ADHD child's behavior, I'm thinking it must be specific to my child. Let's put it this way, we've always said that if only Cody would get enough sleep, he won't need meds. (At this point, he's med-free, but is only 5.) With _____ on stimulants it was impossible for him to go to seep. He would stay up till about 3:00a.m. still wide awake. The doctor told us to try benadryl at night. I did help some but still didn't get him where we thought he should be, so we put him on clonodine. It has been a real blessing. It works like a charm. I don't know if any of these are right for _____ or not but it worked for us..........Just food for thought. "...and falls asleep easier when listening to music. We compiled a cassette for him of all of his favorite contemporary Christian songs (old Amy Grant, Rich Mullins, Jana Alayra -- many that we listen to also) and they are very soothing, comforting and relaxing." We do the music thing at night. We have found though that it works better to have no words to the music (ie instrumental only). The lyrics force us to focus on the words instead of sleep. We have successfully used harp music - if it worked on King Saul to sooth the evil spirits in him, why not for ADHD? (please understand - I'm not necessarily implying that evil spirits = ADHD!) We also use classical/instrumental music during arsenic hours (dinner time). While the kids sort their papers for their paper route, Odessey cassettes and other story tapes keep them from the constant bickering and keep their minds on task. "This is so interesting to me, it seems that both of my boys have figured out for themselves that listening to the radio or the dryer helps them. I never really thought about it the way you described it here though. I really kind of fought with them over the radio bit. I could never fall asleep with the radio on. So, I felt they were just stalling their bedtime. Hmmmmm... Thanks for the info." One reason I think I am ADD is not only that I get verrrrrry easily distracted and hard to stay focused, but when I was growing up as well as to this day, I NEEEeeeeed a radio playing. Words or not (I'm not focused enough to pay attention to the words anyway), I need the noise or I don't sleep at all. Ifthere's noise, I still wake up many times, but I go on back to sleep. As for _____, we do keep music on in the next room (the Moody station), and it gets a bit muffled going through the wall. It helps us all sleep including my DW. Before we started doing this for _____, he was up at night, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, thinking,,,,, IT's PLAYTIME!!!!!!! and off he'd go running and jumping through the house..... Kinda loud at 3 a.m. |
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