The following is a visitor-submitted question or story. For more, you can submit your own sleep story here, or browse the collection of experiences and questions other visitors have shared here.

My Son's Sleep Refusal

by Letitia
(Mount Gambier, Australia)

My seven year old son has never been a good sleeper but things have really escalated over the last few weeks. As a baby he was very colicky and I used to have to settle him to sleep. We tried controlled crying with him but he cried for 3 hours and we finally gave up. I used to spend all day pushing him round in the pram as that was the only way I could get him to sleep.


My husband and I recently had a separation and the last few years have been difficult as my husband has been very sick. We are now back together and are trying very hard to fix our marriage. Only a few weeks after we reconciled my son began to say that he could not get off to sleep. He was sleeping in the same room as his brother and so began to keep him awake too. Three weeks ago he woke over a weekend at 0400 and 0500 each day and came upstairs to tell us he couldn't sleep. He said he was afraid of the dark, but my husband said that when he talked to him about this he seemed inconsistent and so reassured him there was nothing to be scared about and closed the door. I was more convinced about this phobia as I was afraid of the dark as a child, and also wondered if all the recent upsets may have caused this, and so allowed our son to have the bedroom door open or a night light. This caused friction between my husband and I and caused our son to start "splitting" and this caused more problems. Eventually my husband agreed to let our son
have the door open a crack. We moved him into the spare room and put up a sleep chart so that he could earn stickers and rewards for a good sleep. The chart is still empty. We have had to stop leaving a book in his room as he seemed to be deliberately waking especially early to read it (0530).

We have a good bedtime routine with a shower or bath, milk and a plain biscuit, stories and then the younger child goes to sleep and our seven year old is allowed to read for 1/2 hour. We limit sugar in the childrens diets and they eat pretty healthily. They are very active and do not watch much TV.

We have now got into a real battle of wills with our son. If we let him have the door open a crack he pushes it wide open. He listens to everything outside the door and leaps out of bed at the slightest provocation to see what we are doing. We have tried a hot water bottle, an extra teddy as he said he felt lonely and isolated without his brother, but nothing seems to help. He will make endless excuses - many of which are ridiculous, to get up - like sore legs or "shaky arms". When he does not get his own way at night he gets very angry and aggressive - shouting at us and telling us we "Hate him" and "Don't care about him" which is very traumatic.

We are at a loss to know what to do. Our son is hyperactive and has dark circles under his eyes. We are both at breaking point and it is putting a huge strain on both of us.

Comments for My Son's Sleep Refusal

Click here to add your own comments

Jun 13, 2011
 stars
by: Anonymous

Some advice on using the star chart: Start adding stars. I use a star chart with my children and give stars for minor achievements. This motivates them to achieve more and helps them feel successful.
Jun 23, 2011
 Some suggestions
by: Anonymous

He may need to speak to a child therapist. I had a hard time going to sleep when I was six after my Father died. I was afraid other family members would die in their sleep just like he did. Your recent marital issues may be part of the reason he is staying up. Maybe if he talked to someone about his fears, it might help him settle at night.

My son fights going to sleep. It is mostly due to allergies, but he has a hard time turning his brain off at bedtime. I have resorted to taking things away if he is not asleep by the time I come check on him. This usually works pretty well. He stays still trying to pretend he is asleep, but he does it so long that he drifts off before I check on him.

Lastly, in her book, The Baby Whisperer, Tracy Hogg recommends going in 15 minutes before the child normally wakes up and barely rousing them. This is for when babies wake up at 4 & 5 AM & you are trying to teach them to sleep through the night. You are supposed to do it three days in a row for it to work. I tried it on my son as a baby and it worked! Perhaps it will work on older children, as well. It has something to do with where they are in the sleep cycle and helping them fix the bad patterning.
Aug 14, 2011
 I completely understand
by: Beth

I honestly have no words of wisdom, but I want you to know that I can relate. My son is 7, and bedtime is the worst part of my day. It has been since he was three. After reading more about it, I am taking him to the doctor to see if he may be suffering for a sleeping disorder. It definitely changes his behavior during hte day if he doesn't get the proper amoutn of sleep. His father and I divorced shortly before his 4th birthday, so I've always questioned that this may have something to do with it, but the truth is he's suffered from lack of sleep for YEARS. He was a bed wetter until very recently. It's tough. Hang in there, and maybe check with a doctor to see if he/she has some tips for you. Good luck
Aug 16, 2011
 My 8 Year old daughter
by: Anonymous

My 8 yearold daughter has a sleep disorder. I just don't know how to help her. For YEARS night time has been beyond stressful. WE have had charts and they work briefly, we have a very specific bedtime routine which at times leads to her efficiently drifting off and at times the result is she is in her bed awake. Our diet is good and we now never have any sugar after 4:00 in the afternoon. (bedtime is 8) Now that she is older she does not wake her brother and sister, which has helped the family but she has not resolved her issues regarding sleep. She has convinced herself that she can't fall asleep and that it is happening "to" her. She is so worried that she will never fall asleep that she stays up stressed. If I ask her what she is thinking about the next morning she'll say "she's worried about who will be in her class next year, or she had an annoying song in her head, she's hot, she's cold,, she thought she had to go to the bathroom, she's checking the clock to see what time it is..." the list goes on. We have a very stable life, no divorce, food on the table and even nice family time. It is absolutely learned behavior on her part. I feel like I'm watching her lost in a forest and there is a big path that says exit but she is not getting on it. The ebb and flow is overwhelming and yes I too get angry or cry but also at times remind myself it is 'her' issue, she has to do it. I have found excercise, deliberate excercise like swimming on a swim team has helped not quiet her body but her mind as well. I had originally stripped us of all extra activiites thinking just playing and not having to be anywhere was the best way to go, but for her it actually didn't. We are still low key but we have far less episodes when she is swimming. Maybe that nugget may help someone. Until then I will continue to succeed and fail in helping her and reading as much as possible.
Sep 15, 2014
 same here NEW
by: Anonymous

Reading what you wrote about your son is exactly what we have been dealing with for years. He has never been a good sleeper. As a baby he had severe eczema and would scratch till he bled. He also had acid reflux and sleep apnea. So we kept him in our room so we could keep an eye on him since he would stop breathing. Eventually he outgrew all the medical issues. He is now 8.5 and won't sleep alone. The last 4 years he has been with his brother. But lately he has been waking him up or complaining his brothers breathing is letting him awake. He is driving us crazy we don't know what to do.
Dec 10, 2015
 My 7 yr old doesn't sleep at night NEW
by: Tiffany

I'm dealing with a lot of what yall are dealing with I have a 7 yr old son who does not sleep every morning around 3 he wakes up and screams cries throws fits and throws temper tantrums for no reason. It has not got better it has got worse. He has been diagnosed with adhd and takes a med for it. So I was wondering if it could be a side effect according to the dr it's not. For the past month it has been getting way worse at night time. I also have a 2 and a 3 yr old who loses sleep every night due to my 7 yr old wakes up and screams and cries and goes crazy. It is becoming a huge issue and it's not getting better. I've even tried sleep medicine on him that don't work. I tried talking to him laying by him and nothing works. He gets up around 3 am and don't go back to sleep till around 430 am or 5 am and has school in the mornings. When he wakes up he becomes very angry for no reason and looks to see were I'm laying and if I'm not in the spot were he wanted me to be he gets way angrier. I've tried everything and nothing seems to work
Jan 15, 2016
 Query NEW
by: Anonymous

Just wondering if you ever got to the bottom of what's going on? The shaky hands and legs sounds like restless leg syndrome and periodic movement disorder.
Mar 15, 2016
 Same symptoms in adult NEW
by: Anonymous

I had some of these symptoms as an adult: sore legs, shaky arms. They seem to be linked to a lack of electrolyte balance. I used to drink too much water and replaced that with a much smaller amount of sport drink/mineral water/coconut water, and this seems to have helped.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Experiences With Sleep Disorders In Children.



Enjoy this page? Please help us pay it forward to others who would find it valuable by Liking, Sharing, Tweeting, Stumbling, and/or Voting below.

About This Site

Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

In fact, we challenge you to do so! What do you say, are you up for the challenge?

A Note On Visitor-Submitted Questions:

Publishing sleep stories and questions from our visitors is meant to create a forum for open and proactive dialogue about an extremely important portion of our lives (one that occupies 1/3 of it and affects the other 2/3) that isn't talked about enough. It is not meant to substitute a trip to the doctor or the advice of a specialist. It's good to talk; it is not good to avoid consulting someone who's profession it is to help you with this kind of stuff.

If you are in any way concerned about your sleep health, don't wait for an answer on here, and don't necessarily rely on them. See a sleep specialist in your area as soon as possible.

More Questions:

Ask | Answer

The Stanford Sleep Book

Stanford Sleep Book Picture

Dr. Dement's pioneering textbook has been the core text for Sleep and Dreams since 1980, but it has just recently been made available to the wider public for the first time.

In it you'll find a more detailed account of the most important things you need to know about sleep, alertness, dreams, and sleep disorders. Studies, statistics, plus plenty of Dr. Dement's classic anecdotes painting the history of sleep medicine.

Preface | Intro | Contents | Get A Copy

More Sleep Resources

The Zeo

Track Your Own Sleep With Zeo

A revolution in personal sleep tracking, the Zeo is a wireless headband that transmits your brainwaves in realtime to a dock (pictured here) or your smartphone. The result? You can wake up and see exactly what stages of sleep you were in during the night! Unprecedented personalized sleep knowledge.

Sleep Paralysis: A Dreamer's Guide

Sleep Paralysis Treatment Book

Ever woken up paralyzed? A surprising number of us have, believe it or not. But few know the actual causes of this phenomenon, and fewer still how to exert control over it. Dream researcher and sleep paralysis expert Ryan Hurd shares breakthrough insights into how to do just that.

Important Disclaimer

Please Note:

The information found on this page and throughout this site is intended for general information purposes only. While it may prove useful and empowering, it is NOT intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgments of healthcare practitioners.

For more info, see our
Terms of Use.