How to Get a Child With ADHD to Sleep

If you have an ADHD child you know how difficult it is for them to get to sleep at night. With some children it is just that their “motors” can't shut off long enough to calm down and get to sleep. Stimulant medications do not help with your child getting to sleep at night either. I struggled with my son staying up until 1:00AM most mornings. I lost many hours of sleep myself before I went to the Pediatrician completely exhausted and frustrated. The pediatrician prescribed a medication called Clonidine to my son. It was described to me as a blood pressure medication that was frequently used in children with ADHD to help them calm down and go to sleep. I will never forget the first night we gave this medication to my son. It really scared me. His eyes rolled back in his head and he was out like a light. The doctor assured me it was safe and there would be no problems. We continued to give him this medication for years since it was the only way we knew to get him to sleep. That was until I started reading about Melatonin.  

Melatonin is a natural hormone that is produced by the pineal gland in the brain. It basically controls your sleep and wake cycles. It can also be purchased as an over the counter supplement. It is used by many people for sleep disorders. It has also been known to be used for Seasonal Affective Disorder since our bodies tend to decrease our Melatonin production in the winter months due to lack of sunlight. It is a very common supplement and readily available.   

After I read a few articles on Melatonin and tried it myself I was convinced that it was an option for my ADHD child to get to sleep at night. He had been taking the Clonidine for years and it worked very well. I just did not like the way it knocked him out. I felt so guilty giving him this medication. I wanted an alternative and I felt like this was it. We visited with the Pediatrician and discussed Melatonin as a sleep aid for my son. The Pediatrician agreed completely with the idea of using it but had only one concern. His concern was that it would not work as well as the Clonidine.

There were many parents who chose to use Melatonin in lieu of other sleep medications according to the Pediatrician. There were no side effects to really be concerned about. Most common is drowsiness the next day. Less likely side effects are upset stomach and headache. All of which we were willing to risk to try this more natural method of going to sleep for my son. It was suggested to start with 3mg and increase to 5mg if needed. Both of these dosages are very common dosages and can be purchased as such in the pill, liquid, or chewable form.