S/O - 8yo DS with ADHD can't fall asleep

[Anonymous]

Melatonin.

[Anonymous]

Tiny dose of melatonin

[Anonymous]

My DS is a young adult on stimulants since age 7. He goes to sleep pretty late - don't force an early bedtime. Other things that work for him are:

taking meds as early as possible - as soon as he wakes up
eating a lot in the evening so he is full
a lot of exercise during the day
not forcing to bed at any particular time
3 mg melatonin before bed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS is a young adult on stimulants since age 7. He goes to sleep pretty late - don't force an early bedtime. Other things that work for him are:

taking meds as early as possible - as soon as he wakes up
eating a lot in the evening so he is full
a lot of exercise during the day
not forcing to bed at any particular time
3 mg melatonin before bed

My DS is a rising HS senior and we recently changed him from Concerta to Focalin, in part due to poor sleep

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in the same boat and 1mg of melatonin works like a charm.

Yes, you’re supposed to start at 1 mg and try it for an entire week to see if it works before moving to 2 mg. It only started working on night 6 or 7 for my dc.

I would sometimes use the Calm app for bedtime stories after lights out. I would just lay the phone face down so no light disturbed dc. Their bedtime stories are good for falling asleep. Nothing exciting happens, there’s no plot to keep track of, no adult content (or maybe you can choose ones suitable for all ages, I don’t quite remember). A pleasant voice just describes settings and characters and uses repetition of word patterns to kind of make you space out. They’re just right for occupying your brain just enough to stop your racing thoughts, but not enough that you need to concentrate on what’s being said.

A trick that our developmental pediatrician taught dc when trying to fall asleep was to imagine you’re at school. It’s quiet, nobody is there to distract you. It’s your job to go from classroom to classroom, tidying everything up and preparing for tomorrow. First you put all of the chairs up on the desks. Then you empty the trash. Then you vacuum the rug. Then you put art supplies away. Then you sharpen all the pencils, etc. When you’ve finished one classroom, you move on to the next one and repeat all of the tasks, and so on until you feel drowsy. You basically boor yourself to sleep, lol.

[Anonymous]

Adjust meds perhaps after talking w/ doctor. Adult here with late diagnosed ADHD- I highly recommend letting your kid play certain podcasts through the night. Interesting enough to keep the busy brain busy. But not too stimulating. I have found interview shows like Fresh Air works for me. My kid falls asleep the podcasts that interview scientists about space.