Anonymous wrote:Our 11 y/o DD has ADHD and anxiety. She has a lot of trouble calming down and getting to sleep at night. She seems to get a burst of energy right before bedtime and may lay awake for a long time (not sure how long) before finally falling asleep. The sleep deprivation is killer — she has so much trouble getting up in the morning and is often in a surly and angry mood that has an effect on our whole family. Looking for advice and strategies for helping her get settled and asleep more quickly. Melatonin works but we don’t want her taking it every night if we can avoid it. She is not taking other medication (eg stimulants) that could affect her sleep. We try hard to have an evening routine but struggle to get her through it efficiently without having to hover and move her through every step. (She often gets “lost” reading or doing some other random task while she should be brushing her teeth etc). She is so much better generally when she gets a solid night’s sleep that we are really trying to improve this area of her life. Thanks!

So funny, was literally just talking about this with my own psychiatrist for my adult-diagnosed ADHD-inattentive that I have clearly had since childhood. She said that being on a stimulant during the day can actually help sleep because you are able to organize your activities cohesively during the day, and then you are more tired at night.

I would really encourage you to trial different ADHD medications. I have gone through about 6 different meds before I settled on somethings that worked - amphetamine salts and Atomoxetine. The Atomoxetine is very helpful for the mood issues and attention. My feelings in response to something negative are still there but they are no longer extreme. They are manageable, and it is such a relief! I even had to go of Atomoxetine for awhile, and while off I could better manage my feelings because I understood that they were a product of chemistry and not some objective response, so I could better manage them using therapy techniques instead of being swept away. Atomoxeting also really helped my sleep because, IMO, it addresses an aspect of my ADHD - the constant "on" state of my DMN network. My DMN network is my mind wondering, ruminating, imagining and thinking about another thing always, even when I am working on a task. As an ADHD person, I essentially have a 2-track mind. Helpful sometimes, but at night when I am trying to fall asleep, I have a hard time turning that part of my brain off. No amount of exercise, deep-breathing, counting sheep, etc. helps because, for me, it is a chemistry problem. Chemistry that Atomoxetine helps.

I did have some sleep issues with some stimulant meds -- mostly the long-acting Vyvanse. But short-acting Adderall is fine. I can take 2 short acting pills in a row and still go to sleep at night.

IME, if you are refusing to try any ADHD medications, you are making a mistake. I say that as an adult with ADHD who has kids with ADHD - I refused to try medication for them until HS and I regret that. It let so many problems fester into bigger and more numerous problems.

Other things I need for sleep -- melatonin doesn't help but magnesium does a little, but turning down all lights very low is essential - both room lights and having the blue light screen on a screen on and the light brightness on a screen turned way down. I need about an hour of that in my bedroom to make me sleepy. Reading (but nothing too interesting!) or listening to certain kinds of noise (ocean waves for me) helps me feel sleepy.


There is also definitely a sweet spot - if I start to feel sleepy at 10 but don't go to bed, then I get a second wind and end up staying up until 1 or 2 am.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. My DD and I both have ADHD. I am on sleep meds, though I didn’t need them until my 40s. My teen just weaned herself off sleep meds after using them for 3.5 years.

It is so hard to live in a constant state of tiredness and of course, less sleep aggravates ADHD (symptoms).

I recommend heavy exercise and Calm gummies (they are a magnesium supplement). My DD and I swear by them. And all the other sleep hygiene stuff that is recommended - no screens, wind down time.

It is really a life style you need to commit to…

What do you mean by heavy exercise and, more importantly, when? I find that the nights my DD has practice it actually makes it harder for her to go to sleep, but that may have more to do with the fact that she gets home later and has less time to wind down than it does with the fact that she exercised.

DP, but assume this poster means heavy work, which you can look up. That includes activities like pushing and pulling heavy objects. It’s supposed to help calm the nervous system.

Weighted blanket helped a lot for my son

Has she tried using a weighted blanket? Guided sleep meditation like Get Sleepy? Having a regular evening routine — like no screens, a warm shower, a warm drink?

Exercise in the morning and after school, zero screens, healthy diet, early dinner, no added sugar or artificial anything.

We got one of the hug sleep pods for 9 yo DS and it actually helped a lot.

Our ped recommended melatonin. It's a game changer.

the only think that helped my daughter was melatonin. I live her less than an MG every night for over a year now. Maybe two years. I don't feel great about it, but if I don't she ramps up at night. Magnesium doesn't seem to make a difference. Maybe I'll try yoga

Yoga and magnesium

Meditation for kids can help calm in evening. You can also try setting the evening routine to a song playlist to help her internalize how long various steps should take.

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. My DD and I both have ADHD. I am on sleep meds, though I didn’t need them until my 40s. My teen just weaned herself off sleep meds after using them for 3.5 years.

It is so hard to live in a constant state of tiredness and of course, less sleep aggravates ADHD (symptoms).

I recommend heavy exercise and Calm gummies (they are a magnesium supplement). My DD and I swear by them. And all the other sleep hygiene stuff that is recommended - no screens, wind down time.

It is really a life style you need to commit to…

What do you mean by heavy exercise and, more importantly, when? I find that the nights my DD has practice it actually makes it harder for her to go to sleep, but that may have more to do with the fact that she gets home later and has less time to wind down than it does with the fact that she exercised.

I’m sorry OP. My DD and I both have ADHD. I am on sleep meds, though I didn’t need them until my 40s. My teen just weaned herself off sleep meds after using them for 3.5 years.

It is so hard to live in a constant state of tiredness and of course, less sleep aggravates ADHD (symptoms).

I recommend heavy exercise and Calm gummies (they are a magnesium supplement). My DD and I swear by them. And all the other sleep hygiene stuff that is recommended - no screens, wind down time.

It is really a life style you need to commit to…

We've struggled with that forever, too. One thing that seems to work is getting our son (12) through his shower and "getting ready for bed" a bit earlier and then giving him a set amount of time to find something quiet to do in his room before he needs to be in bed. He often will sit on his floor and build with magnatiles, color, or now he has a hamster and he will sit on his bean bag and hold the hamster. You have to find something she likes to do that is calming and use that as something to look forward to after her bath but before bed. Hope that helps!

Heavy work? Meditation in bed? If you have Peloton, we prefer the Peloton sleep meditations versus apps like Calm or Moshi. The latter are more story oriented and unfortunately, that keeps him up more than helps him sleep whereas directed breathing normally works in 15 or less.
Hug Sleep sleep sack? Look into joint compression https://yourkidstable.com/joint-compressions/ as an option. The latter works for my kid when he is having trouble with sleep. We also rotate the sleep sack into rotation, but it needs to be cold otherwise he gets too hot.

Our 11 y/o DD has ADHD and anxiety. She has a lot of trouble calming down and getting to sleep at night. She seems to get a burst of energy right before bedtime and may lay awake for a long time (not sure how long) before finally falling asleep. The sleep deprivation is killer — she has so much trouble getting up in the morning and is often in a surly and angry mood that has an effect on our whole family. Looking for advice and strategies for helping her get settled and asleep more quickly. Melatonin works but we don’t want her taking it every night if we can avoid it. She is not taking other medication (eg stimulants) that could affect her sleep. We try hard to have an evening routine but struggle to get her through it efficiently without having to hover and move her through every step. (She often gets “lost” reading or doing some other random task while she should be brushing her teeth etc). She is so much better generally when she gets a solid night’s sleep that we are really trying to improve this area of her life. Thanks!