I remember night after night of being put to bed as a child and just lying there for what seemed like hours as my mind churned away, processing everything I had thought of or seen or touched or smelled that day. I couldn’t stop it. During the summer, I’d lean over my platform bed, as close as I could to my window, and read until I couldn’t see anymore (I wasn’t allowed to read once I was in bed). That, at least, seemed to help quiet my mind, but typically, I’d be awake long after I was put to bed.

I don’t know if it’s just the way my brain is wired or if it has something to do with being a night owl, but I still have trouble with this now as well. My brain seems to fire itself up at night and if I go to bed too early, which is actually incredibly late for most people, I will just lie there with my mind spinning through everything that’s going on in my life, unless I am drop-dead tired. I haven’t figured out how to get myself to sleep at a reasonable hour either.

Cody struggles with this too. I put him to bed at a decent time, even early, but he’s often awake for 2-3 hours longer. He reads and draws while lying down (I have always let my kids read in bed as long as they want because I think it promotes sleepiness), but most nights, it’s difficult for him to wind down. That little brain is constantly going, going, going. Consequently, mornings are tough for him (boy, do I understand that!) and it takes me about 10 minutes of rubbing his back and gently coaxing him out of bed to get him downstairs because his body is demanding more sleep.

So, if you and/or your child have problems with getting to sleep at night due to a very active brain, do you have any tips on how to help kids settle themselves down and get to sleep at a decent time? Unfortunately, this world doesn’t typically operate on a night owl’s schedule, certainly not for a school-aged child, or this could be workable.

Thanks in advance for any help!