13 year old doesn't sleep

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harmelodie
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Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2019 9:25 am
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by harmelodie on Mon Oct 14, 2019 11:47 am

13 year old doesn't sleep

My 13yr old niece never feels sleepy, she stays up late reading because she just does not feel tired. She has dyspraxia, would this impact? Can you offer any suggestions for ways to settle her and help her have a better sleep routine?

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Vicki Dawson
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Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2019 11:48 am
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by Vicki Dawson on Thu Oct 17, 2019 10:01 am

Re: 13 year old doesn't sleep

Hi there,

There are lots of things that can impact on sleep and it is very common for teenagers to not feel sleepy until late. Their circadian rhythm goes through a change which means that they tend to release the sleep hormone melatonin later and this makes it harder to fall asleep. The difficulty can then be that it is hard to wake up the next day.

It would be helpful to work out on average what time she is falling asleep and to set this as her bedtime. A good bedtime routine should begin one hour before this time. It should involve no screen activities and dimming the lights, this may help her to produce the melatonin more naturally and feel sleepy. No school work during this time is a good idea and she should choose activities that she finds relaxing. Doing the same things at the same time each night can help to support her body clock. Once she has the routine established you can gradually move the bedtime and the routine time by 15 minutes every few nights until she starts to fall asleep at a more appropriate time.

A set wake up time is also important - even at the weekend! Opening the curtains to let the daylight in will help her to feel more awake.

Hope that helps - Vicki, The Sleep Charity :)
Vicki Dawson
CEO and Founder of The Children's Sleep Charity

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... dawson.php

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