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My 5 Year Old Son Has Very Restless Sleep - Talking, Moving

by Brandy Mero

My son has been seeing a therapist for some of his behavior he is showing. Ever since he was a baby he had very restless nights. Now that he is 5 years old, he talks in his sleep, rolls around kicks, and sometimes will act out a movement while he's sleeping.


He will get about 10 hours a sleep at night. But if he has had a very active dream, he will be exhausted in the morning. Crying, tantrum fits, to where he will cry that he's hungry but won't eat his breakfast.

His teacher is showing concern for his lack of social interaction, and she states he seems "lost, and has a hard time following direction, and forgetful". I have him seeing a therapist to evaluate him to see if there is a concern for Autism. When I tell them I think it's due to his sleep behavior they don't seem to listen and that at his age he shouldn't have sleep problems.

Some days I feel so helpless for him. Can you please shed light on what I should do to help him? I look for sleep disorders for his age and nothing seems to match his problem. He doesn't snore, he's just super active, when he sleeps...

Thank you.

Comments for My 5 Year Old Son Has Very Restless Sleep - Talking, Moving

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Nov 19, 2015
 seems to have similer problem NEW
by: Anonymous

hi there
My boy is also 5 year of age and I seem to a have the same problem with him....
at night he is so restless and often he will sit and cry on his bed in the middle of the night and one I calm him down he will go back to bed and in the morning he does not now anything.

please if anyone have any solutions or help!!!
Dec 29, 2015
 similar problems NEW
by: Anonymous

My 5 year old daughter is having similar issues. She is moving a lot at night. She sometimes sits up talking. Last night she started shoving her face into the pillow and clawing at it. She is also touching her head a lot, wincing and almost twitching in her sleep. She is not herself. She is also now waking up tired, and not wanting to get out of bed. These issues started about a month ago and have increased. We took her to her pediatrician, and a neurologist and they both said she is healthy. The problem is still there and taking a toll on us all.
The only thing I can think is that this is a reaction to her 6 month old brother.

Please lets all share our experiences and hopefully help each other out.
Jan 30, 2016
 Restless nights NEW
by: Jenny o

My son was this way too. Would move so much all over the bed and room while sleeping. Night terrors too. He's much better now that he takes an iron supplement everyday. He had an extremely low ferritin level, which is iron stores. Low iron can lead to restlessness and similar symptoms as adhd. He's 4 years old and luckily swallows a pill easily now. Iron tastes awful. We've never had a problem with him being constipated from it. It's fairly common for toddlers to have low ferritin, you can check it the level by asking your doc to order a blood test.
Feb 24, 2016
 Same issue..for 4 yrs! NEW
by: Shannon

My son is 7 yrs old, he is exactly the same way! He will go to bed and not wake in the night, but when asleep he kicks, moves constantly and talks in his sleep at times. These issues have been going on for 4 yrs. He was diagnosed with ADHD in October of this year. He is now on his 3rd ADHD medication since the other 2 didn't work!! I strongly feel most of his issues are coming from his sleep. When I tell the Dr. about his sleeping behaviors it's like they don't address it or want to see why he is this way. He is not doing well in school, having focus issues and not completing his work on time in class. I do believe they need to check his ferritin levels to see if he is low in iron. Drugging my kid up is NOT what I want to do if the main cause is iron that can be managed without prescription drugs. I just feel so lost and want to help my son!!
Apr 28, 2019
 10 year old
by: Anonymous

Hi All, my son is twice the age of most of the kids mentioned and he has always been restless at night. He constantly kicks, moves, talks, and picks his nose until it bleeds. I thought it was a stage and he would grow out of it, but I recently fell asleep next to him and it seems as if it is still as bad as before. I personally have low iron levels so its a possibility he does to. I will be sure to request a test, Also thinking about trying some sort of relaxation exercises.

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