Are you burned out and tired staying up half a night with your ASD child that seems to get a huge surge of energy after midnight? Do you feel they sleep for 2-3 hours at bedtime, and wake up active, happy, and ready to start their day while they haven’t really slept at all and neither have you??
You are not alone! Read on to find some answers (and your sanity!)
1. Adjust Body clock: We all have a natural circadian rhythm. Why do birds know to start singing at dawn? Why do we start yawning as the sun goes down? It’s a natural internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. The circadian rhythm will also impact the melatonin production - yes, it is a natural hormone created by the body. So how can you improve this? Ensure your child is sleeping and rising with the sun, and spending plenty of time in the sun soaking up the natural sunshine that is signaling to the brain the difference between AM & PM.
2. Sleep Hygiene: This may sound funny, but it’s actually very important. Have a set sleep time that doesn’t go out the window on the weekends. Don’t go for 9 pm bedtimes if you can’t stick with them. Set a later time if you must but find the one you can consistently stick to. Combine with an evening routine such as Epsom Salt bath or a nice massage or a quiet bedtime reading with your child perhaps with a weighted blanket. Do this every day to make a ritual out of it.
3. Sleep Sanctuary: Ensure you are creating a safe space for your child to doze off and reach the optimal state of relaxation in their sleep. Most of our children do not enter the REM phase of their sleep which is meant to be the deepest and where the body repairs itself and immune system strengthens. Our kids need this for regulation, focus, learning, and development! Ensure dark room with a dim light, temperature set up to what suits your child, internet/wi-fi turned off in the sleep area.
4. Screen time: opt for quiet tv time if removing screens entirely is not possible but avoid music, loud noises, bright lights or blue lights from laptops/phones as the evening falls. Learn to slow down with the day, your child will slow down with you.
5. Supplement: Adding Magnesium is a great way of calming our bodies down for the night. Epsom salt baths give topical magnesium however oral supplementation is more important, as it can signal and activate our rest-and-digest part of our nervous system. If only our diets were not so nutrient deficient! Some might benefit from temporary low dose melatonin supplementation as well.
As always, work with a practitioner to find what works for your unique child.
Do you have a sleepless and active owl at night? What works for you?
Contributed by:
Batool Mirza
