The 6 year old goes to sleep without issue. But he will not stay asleep. He rolls and flops all over. He is up and down every couple of hours.
He does not snore and has had his tonsils and adenoids out.
He constantly gets up but is not fully awake really. Not sleep walking as he knows he is awake but it is dark he gets up makes a bunch of noise trying to get to our room.
Frequently wakes the other boys up trying to make it to our room.

Not on any meds, sugar is limited in the evening.
He had breathing and allergy issues until we found out he was allergic to down. Got rid of all the down pillows and the snots and heavy breathing while sleeping ended.

It is beyond frustrating.

Used to also take forever to actually get him to sleep. 4 weeks of melatonin changed all that and he goes to sleep with ease.
Even when taking melatonin he won’t stay asleep longer than a couple hours.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
He constantly gets up but is not fully awake really.

I don't have an answer for you but that line grabs me as interesting.
When I was his age, I used to run in my sleep. I was asleep but my legs went everywhere. I know this because around age 4-5 I was still trying to sleep in my parents bed and when I did, I was told I was kicking every which way before I was placed back in my own bed.

My son would get up and use the bathroom in his sleep and then instead of going back to bed, he would occasionally go turn the tv on like he would/as if it was morning. We’d find him asleep on the couch with the TV on the netflix menu, since he wasnt awake enough to pick a show usually. He’s nine and has since stopped sleep walking. But he also had nightmares/terrors and often sleepwalked.

I have no real advice aside from anecdotes and sympathy, and the guess that he, too, will outgrow this.

He is awake as he will talk to us, know he is awake, remember what he is doing or did the next day. He is just so tired his motor skills have not caught up seems like.
He has trouble opening doors and closing them so he essentially just slams the door shut as he can’t really control the speed of the door. Can’t really walk in a straight line. Typical stuff that even happens to me if I try to start moving to quickly after waking up.

He had terrible night terrors when he was little.
Just screaming and flailing bloody murder but would have no idea you were holding him just a blank look in his eyes with no acknowledgement of you being there.
He would finally stop and be asleep but have zero recollection of those.
Not had one of those in a few years.

Tonight is overly rough. Went to sleep real fast about 8 was up at 10:30, 11:15, 1:00, 1:45, 2:30 mom finally went to the room with him but can hear him talking to her every so often.
I finally fell asleep about 11 and he came in at 11:15 have not been able to get back to sleep.
Even putting on the Robert Miles Dreamland album which almost always has me out before the 2nd track is over.

Do your kids have different summer time and school year bed times?
Maybe he is going to bed too early, try allowing him a bed time of an hour later.

I am not an expert either but in my experience sleep disorders like this most always disappear as kids get older.

You say he is 6 so he is probably just starting school, right? The routine that going to school offers will straighten this out over time. At least that is what I have seen. I would not let him take naps during the day if he does that now.

My 6 year old granddaughter never goes to bed before 9 on a school night. She stays up until 10 or later on weekends. She sleeps like a rock.

how much exercise is he getting ?

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Does he sleep with a light on?

Any caffeine during the day? Coke, chocolate, etc?

What did the doctor say?

An evaluation by a child psychologist would be in order. Sleep studies a possibilty. Somnambulism and sleep problems are pretty common in kids. A good evaluation will give you direction and provide you with techniques to deal with the issue.

My little one has a blue light on in his room and music since he was a baby. It has reduced him coming into our room significantly, he has told me he’s afraid of the dark and the light helps with that. When we go places we take the music and just use a small night light.

I wonder if you can wear him out before bed time...if that might help, it’s cheap and easy, before going to the doctor or sleep study

Have you considered having him wear a Fitbit to sleep? The watch has the capability of measuring Light sleep, Deep sleep, REM and Awake time. Using this data you can figure out at what time is he awakening and then address the cure based on that info.

For what it’s worth, have you tried “white noise” for his bedroom? A dull, constant low volume noise is known as hypnotizing.

Btw, my son couldn’t/wouldn’t sleep unless/until he found his preferred sleeping position.

Is he getting enough outdoor exercise?

My 4 year old’s sleep is great when he’s really tired out from having a good amount of outdoor time.

I saw my cousin’s kid (age 12) at a wedding recently and was shocked at how HUGE (fat) he was, my cousin just shrugs and tells me he never goes outside, just plays video games every waking hour when not in school etc. poor kid

Being a parent of 2, I guess this would be the wrong time to say
"Here, lil Jimmy, this is robotussin"

If you're going the old whiskey/bourbon route, start them out on the cheap stuff. Once they get a taste of the better of the brown liquors, they won't go back to Jim Beam / Jack Daniles. Don't ask me how I know this.


On a serious note- how is he when he wakes up after a few hours? Is he still tired?
How many hours total of sleep a day is he getting?

Play with later bedtimes?
White noise machine?
Does it even matter?

Seems like sleep rhythm thing really, but the distractions could help a restless
Sleeper find the familiar sounds of being inutero.
Which may help the rhythm become deeper and keep him settled.

The “up at nite” kid thing is no fun. Boo kid.

Have him clean out your garage. He'll sleep like a baby.

How much melatonin are you giving him? Maybe a time released form would work better.


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Both my boys wouldnt stay in bed when they got one.

Purchased a "Cars" tent for the oldest and saved it for the younger. They were happy to sleep in that tent on their bed all night.

Not sure it will help, but I bet there is a similar item out there that may help.

Pretty solid bed time routine. Small nightlight stays on all night. A ceiling projector with color changing stars (fairly dim) that goes off after 45 minutes. Used to use white noise now it is like an evening night scene with crickets (sleeps longer with it than white noise). We have tried a weighted blanket. Generally asleep between 8:30 and 9:00 always read 3-5 books right before bed.
They have no personal devices, play no video games what so ever, and watch very little TV after dinner. Very active and outside playing if it is not raining. If inside we have a bounce house in the basement and a trampoline.
He has been allergy tested which is how we found out about the down issue. We bought one of those dream tents for his bed.
He is no longer on melatonin as the doctor said it only helps them fall asleep which we cfound to be true and he falls asleep quickly now.
He does not take naps we stopped even trying 2 years ago.