adolescent insomnia?

[topaz]

So, my eldest boy has trouble falling asleep.  No big deal.  He gets it from me.  I don't deal well with enforced bedtimes -- I go to sleep when I'm tired and not before.  As a child I would often turn my lights on after bedtime and read myself to sleep, a process which could take a couple of hours.  I read to Morgan at bedtime, and it usually takes at least 45 minutes for him to relax enough to fall asleep.

Last Saturday, while staying over at his grandparents' house, he stayed awake all night.  After everyone else had gone to sleep, and he was still awake, Morgan turned on a light to read.  When his grandmother woke up at 5am, Morgan told her he'd been up reading and asked her to make him some breakfast.  He finally conked out at about 4:30pm Sunday afternoon and slept straight through until 7am Monday.

Until now I haven't worried much about this -- like I said, I've been there -- but as I don't think it was ever quite this bad for me, this incident made me sit up and take notice.

So, anyone have any experience with pre-adolescent insomnia?  Suggestions for ways to help a kid learn deliberate relaxation or how to fall asleep?  I'm thinking that making a CD or an MP3 playlist of soothing music (or audiobooks) might help, but I'm especially interested in skills he can learn to help himself get to sleep when music or other external aids aren't available.

Comments

[maebeth.livejournal.com]

I have notes from my mom writing to her sisters about how she worried about me. I just thought that bed was where you laid awake.

sensory overload and inability to turn off the brain were prime. So I'd be busy reading all the book titles on the shelf, listing everything I did all day, re-living bad situations. Ideas like relaxing each muscle were too interesting... I'd carefully do each one in order than wonder if there were separate muscles for each toe.. and could I do them separately? and hey, can you do toes and ankles at the same time....
And thus, not asleep.

As a kid, prayer is what worked. Not imposing here, but essentially the idea that it was completely safe, tht God would cover me over the night.
At the same time, all the healthy sleep rules. Its ok to read, sitting up in a chair, but not in bed. Get up after 20 minutes of waiting and go do something else. And for certain, being in a room that is dark, cool, and quiet, with sufficient covers for weight to feel secure and heat control to feel warm.
(I use a heating pad now to preheat the space where my feet will be.)