how can i stop my 4 year old son from waking up at 3am every morning?

Question

for the past six months my 4 year old son has been waking up at 3am every morning and will not go back to sleep. i have tried putting him to bed later but with no joy and he is always on the go what should i do

he goes to bed at 7 - 8 pm on weekdays and 9 - 11 pm at weekends. he is also very hyperactive. he doesnt have a nap during the day as he is at school what can i do.

Answer 1

diet is the 1st step...there are lots of foods out there which look great but can be full of additives etc. my eldest daughter was/is 'hyper', needed little rest or sleep, and at age of 12 still doesnt drop off to sleep until 11/12 pm but does now sleep thru night!
cut out sweets/choc/lollies etc if he has them, offer them as part of lunch menu but nothing after 3pm except fruit or main meal. does he like cereal? offer him weetabix/porridge at around 6pm? and a warm milky drink 2 hours before bedtime so has time to pee before bed!
i'm a baby massage tutor, and use it on my 3 girls. give him a bath with 3 drops of lavender, then see if he will let you massage him whilst drying him..plain carrier oil or put 2/3 drops of lavander in 100ml of carrier oil. some kids resist at 1st or only like their feet/hands massaged rather than whole body, especially hyperactive kiddies! read him a calming sleepy story in bed, put on a calming sleepy story or music when you leave room. when he wakes you MUST go to him, take him back to bed, tell him its sleep / night time and everyone else is asleep. you may need to do this for what feels like a million times a night for days or at worst couple of weeks...sounds like torture for the parent, but its a guaranteed method that works, but ONLY if you do not give in one night as will need to start again! (tell him the tv is unplugged and that he can only watch his favourite programme the next day if he has slept in his bed all night. ) please try this it really works!!! do not get into a conversation or arguement whilst putting back to bed, talk softly but firmly, and just repeat phrases - "time for bed/back to bed/mummy's going to sleep now time for you to slepp/back to bed/time for bed/see you in morning". leave room immediately, go back as soon as he's up start again! also do what others suggest... double glaze his window/put thick blanket behind curtain/have only a dim night light/remove stimuli form room or put out of reach. also do what a friend did which is to tell him during daytime that when he's learned to sleep in his bed all night all the time, he can go to shop and choose a book/small toy as a reward..but be careful he doesnt think that he gets one each morning if you use this behaviour reward system! ideally he should soon realise that NOTHING will happen during night except sleep. dont give in until he's learned you mean it and he sleeps for you, then get yourself a treat for being so patient and for a job well done!! calpol can work but they soon get immune to it! whiskey is tempting but save it for yourself!! good luck.

Answer 2

Some of the answers are great. Here are more ideas for you to Analise. 1. What are you feeding him? Chocolates and sweets may have a lasting effect on the body. Too much food before dinner time? Too much fried food may also cause his body to feel uncomfortable. If this is the case try to neutralize with pear juice. A warm soup can also help. Most of all, be very careful about what he's eating. There may be a pattern. 2. Is he over excited during the day? Too much TV? Too much excitement? Family or Friends making him laugh too much 3. Is he insecure about sleeping alone? Does he need you to sleep with him? Do you have a bedtime ritual? Stories, Music to set the atmosphere right? 4. Perhaps all it takes is to move his sleeping hours up. 1 hour at the time. Try waking him up sooner in the morning and shift every 1 hour at the time Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Define later. If you're putting him down at 6:00pm then moving it to 7:00pm won't make much of a difference. Try keeping him up until 8:30-9:00. Make sure he is being active during the day rather than sitting down in front of the TV. Make sure his intake of sweets and/or caffeine is limited - especially later in the day and in the evening.

The other thing would be to make sure there isn't something in the environment that is waking him up. Does a neighbor leave for work every morning at that time? If you live in an apartment, is there a neighbor on the other side of his wall who has an alarm clock going off at 3:00am.

I would also recommend making sure there aren't any lights or other stimuli on in his room. Maybe he has a hard time going to sleep without a light on near by, but you should turn off that light when you go to bed.

Answer 4

first look at his diet....cut out all the sugary snacks get thoses blood sugars levelled out to help with the hyperactivity. next get a bedtime routine same thing every night be it a tuesday or a saturday..set the bedtime for 8pm 8.30pm this is reasonable for a 4 yr old....start an hour or 45mins before this....a nice warm bath try using the baby bedtime bath range..works for big kids too!!! get him relaxed there should be no rough and tumble play keep things quiet and your voice low...after bath what about a nice warm milky drink what child can resist hot chocolate but do use the sugar free variety or make your own even better..when milk is warmed changes occur in it and it becomes a sopophoric, in other words it aids sleep...after this what about a bed time story..have the lights low in the bedroom and have story time..then its off to bed. keep the routine going nightly. if he wakes up during the night keep your voice low and quiet..give no stimulation and gently put him back to bed..let him know that its not time to get up yet,tuck him in and leave the room...keep repeating this he will get the message he's 4 after all. you could also treat him to a great glow in the dark kids clock, show him how the hands move round and explain that "we stay in bed until the hands are here on your clock" a reward system could also be introduced using coloured balls and a large jar ,for each night he stays in bed he gets a coloured ball when his jar is filled he can get a very special treat, if he wakes during the night and gets you up too then he must loose a ball.
has something happened to break his sleep patters? check this out too....and also keeping kids up later at the weekend to get the to sleep later never works..it only upsets the routine they are creatures of habit and respond best to limits..good luck

Answer 5

does he nap during the day? He may be one of the few 3 year olds that doesn't need a nap. My mom told me that if I napped even for a bit, I wouldn't sleep but a couple hours in the night (late to bed, wake up early) some kids just don't require much sleep. However, my sleep habbits have persisted into adulthood...well, it is 3:21 now and I'm still awake, I will go to bed about 4 and wake up on my own by 8. I guess it's insomnia for me, but it doesn't bother me.

Answer 6

Set a CD player on a timer for around the time he wakes up and let him listen to a story or music. He's old enough to understand that mummy needs her sleep too and that he mustn't come and bother her.
Cut out fizzy drinks and sugary foods in the hours before bedtime so they're not sending his system into overdrive.
Let him play outside during the day, or take him for long walks, or get him doing some other physical activity.
This early waking problem should disappear of its own accord when he starts full time school as he will be exhausted.

Answer 7

Define later. If you're putting him down at 6:00pm then moving it to 7:00pm won't make much of a difference. Try keeping him up until 8:30-9:00. Make sure he is being active during the day rather than sitting down in front of the TV. Make sure his intake of sweets and/or caffeine is limited - especially later in the day and in the evening.

The other thing would be to make sure there isn't something in the environment that is waking him up. Does a neighbor leave for work every morning at that time? If you live in an apartment, is there a neighbor on the other side of his wall who has an alarm clock going off at 3:00am.

I would also recommend making sure there aren't any lights or other stimuli on in his room. Maybe he has a hard time going to sleep without a light on near by, but you should turn off that light when you go to bed.



does he nap during the day? He may be one of the few 3 year olds that doesn't need a nap. My mom told me that if I napped even for a bit, I wouldn't sleep but a couple hours in the night (late to bed, wake up early) some kids just don't require much sleep. However, my sleep habbits have persisted into adulthood...well, it is 3:21 now and I'm still awake, I will go to bed about 4 and wake up on my own by 8. I guess it's insomnia for me, but it doesn't bother me.

Answer 8

i have the same problem with my 4 yr old, he goes to bed at 8pm every night, then at 3-4am comes into my bed and demands the TV on which i must admit sometimes i have just put the TV on so i can get some sleep, but last night was the final straw he came into my room demanded the TV on which i point blank refused and then he went downstairs and put the TV on so i had to get up but tonight the baby gate in his and his little brother's room is getting locked and i am going to ignore the shouts and the crys he will learn the hard way try it it might work as he will get the mesage after a few nights, i hope

Answer 9

Lower his intake of sugar through out the day and increase his level of physical activity. Try to have him be most active about 3 hours before you put him to bed and be sure he doesn't eat anything during these 3 hours. Be sure he drinks plenty of water though. But not too much...The last thing you need is to have him still waking up but with an added problem.
It might also help if he doesn't take any naps through out the day.

Answer 10

Why did he start waking up at 3 in the morning 6 months ago, did he sleep through the night befor that? Routine is they key, supper bath and bed, maybe a story,some people let the telly babysit and it over stimulates the mind. Hope you sort it.

Answer 11

In addition to putting him to bed later you may wan tot try giving him something heavy to eat such as oatmeal or grits or something before he gose to sleep...It always works with my daughter...Or if you don't want him to eat before bed, you could try addind more physical play thoughout the day, shorter naps in the afternoon helps also...instead of letting him watch TV or just sit around doing activities, you could make outside play longer. or play a game of tag around the living room. By the time bed time comes he'll be pooped.