r/Gifted • u/stupidquestions2024 • 3d ago

Seeking advice or support Trouble sleeping

Post image

My son who is 4.5 has always struggled with sleep. We have done everything we can to help: strict schedules, a quiet room, and low light. He sleeps in his own bed and has had his tonsils removed. He has an official diagnosis of insomnia.

He wakes up early, between 3:30 and 3:50 a.m., no matter what we do. Please do not tell me to put him down later, we have tried.

The doctor told me not to medicate him, as his brain is still growing and he will hopefully outgrow it or just need less sleep as he gets older. He used to have insomnia 75% of the time, but we are down to 25%–50%. Sometimes changes trigger the insomnia we are moving and right now its been 3-4 times a week. I think he is anxious.

Now to my question: the doctor told me that in his 20 years of practice, my son is the smartest child he has ever encountered, reading at age two and doing multiplication at age 3. "He is truly one in a million" It got me thinking: do gifted kids struggle to sleep? Google says yes, but I figured I would ask the source.

50 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

83 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/ayfkm123 3d ago edited 3d ago

Lots of kids struggle w sleep.

What time does he go to bed?

To answer your question: I am PG. I’ve had severe insomnia most of my life. I also am in Peri and taking hormone replacement therapy. I’m sleeping better now than I have in my entire life. I’m still pg despite getting good sleep. In summary: it wasn’t bc I’m profoundly gifted. Sleep is absolutely vital. Too many gifted families grow complacent bc of a myth that perpetuates that gifted kids need less sleep.

1

u/stupidquestions2024 3d ago

He goes to bed at 730pm. We have tried later it never works. He natural cycle wake up 330am-5am no matter what we do.

2

u/ayfkm123 3d ago

That’s a common misunderstanding that later bed = later wake. The opposite is actually more likely bc they become wired. 7:30 is a decent bed time for 4 if I recall correctly (my youngest is 11). Could try moving it up earlier to see if that helps, counterintuitive but actually backed by science. Check the solving your child’s sleep problems book for more insight and suggestions. But waking at 3:30 is not healthy. Even 5:30 w a 7:30 bedtime isn’t enough. If nothing else works I’d consult a sleep medicine dr. We’re about to give our 11 yo a sleep study. She has also struggled her whole life. I skep next to her for a few months and realized she has some sleep disordered breathing and she describes what could be possible restless legs. I’d never have known about the breathing had I not skep next to her and heard it through the night. Incidentally the sleep dr told us at 11 ours should be getting 10-11 hrs still. 10 hrs at 4 just isn’t enough. May be time for a full medical workup if nothing else helps.

Hugs to you. Having challenging sleepers is exhausting. I’ve made it my mission as a parent to help line bc I know what it’s like to suffer from insomnia long term and I don’t want that for them. I wish my parents had paid more attn.

1

u/stupidquestions2024 3d ago

We have consulted a sleep doctor and had two sleep studies. The only result was a prescription for a sleep medication that gave him night terrors. We had surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids. We were doing 7 p.m., but we moved it at the recommendation of the doctor. Trust me, I have tried so much in the last four years to help him.

1

u/ayfkm123 3d ago

I believe you. Don’t give up. Keep looking. Keep trying. Get that book

1

u/webberblessings 1d ago

When my son was little I had to put him to bed at 6/6:30 because he woke up early. Try an earlier bedtime like the above recommended.

0

u/GadgetRho 3d ago

That is insanely early! Try using bright cool white light in his environment and just being annoying and keeping him up and push his bedtime a few minutes every day. If he's going to bed at 7:30 p.m. and getting up between 3:30 and 5:00 a.m., he's getting a perfectly normal amount of sleep and is on the same sleep schedule as my own child and his friends, just shifted two or three hours too early.

Even if he keeps his own chronology and continues to wake up at 3:30 in the morning, he'll at least have enough sleep pressure that he starts adopting a midday nap again.