My son is 14 years old, and cannot get to sleep at a reasonable time, which makes him very tired and unable to get out of bed for school in the morning, without me dragging him by his two feet! Are there any "home remedies" that someone can suggest? Thanks!

An hour before bedtime he needs to drink a full glass of milk, and also swallow a calcium/magnesium tablet or capsule. Works for me !

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13 Responses

  1. 1 Felicia S
    2009 Nov 15

    im sixteen, and i have the same problems, melatonin is like a vitamin its otc and its on the vitamin isle. it helps sooo much. it calms you down and lets me relax enough to fall asleep. its not a drug so non addicting!
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  2. 2 sevenstar
    2009 Nov 15

    A hot bath and a glass of warm milk
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  3. 3 Debi
    2009 Nov 15

    vanilla milk: heat up milk. add two things of splenda, and some vanilla. it hits the spot. have him drink it about 30 minutes before bed and boom he will be out like a light.
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  4. 4 Regina (SOC)
    2009 Nov 15

    An hour before bedtime he needs to drink a full glass of milk, and also swallow a calcium/magnesium tablet or capsule. Works for me !
    References :

  5. 5 Q ball
    2009 Nov 15

    Turn off his TV and video games and make him exercise or play a sport. That will wear him out.
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  6. 6 loves christmas lights
    2009 Nov 15

    He needs better nutrition, he needs more overal exercise in his life, even a short walk in the evening, he needs to learn relaxation techniques, his cell phone off a few hour before bed, no computer either. The news was saying the stress of waiting on firends phone calls and texting and computer emails, the aniticipation is being reported at making sleep a problem for anyone of any age! Makes since to me! My daughter was such a stressed out teen, she still has problems, had I had the knowlegde then that I do now, Id also take her to the Drs to help learn relaxation techniques.
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  7. 7 banjopickinmike
    2009 Nov 15

    I second on the melatonin, it helps. Also limit any tv he watches before bed as anything "sitmulating" like this hinders sleep. Getting him to do something relaxing (like reading) 30min before bed helps ready his body for sleep.
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  8. 8 Matthew S
    2009 Nov 15

    I am 16 and have the same problem. i usually try to be asleep for 11 however most nights i cant sleep till 1. some methods i have tried and might work is not using computers, PCs the tv about 1 hour above bed. instead read a book as this help you to feel sleepy. other methods are drinking a warm milky drink. also invest in a white noise machine, these create soothing sounds to fall asleep to. excessive before bed is also a good idea and making yourself physically tiered will help you get a better nights sleep.

    never try sleeping tablets, at one point i was addicted and couldn’t sleep without them.

    hope some of these methods work for you.
    References :
    my brain

  9. 9 BrandonM
    2009 Nov 15

    tons, although insomnia sucks. I went through a few bouts of that, sometimes even Ambien didn’t work…

    1) Get him up early and don’t let him nap/rest through the day. The goal is to get him exhausted by an earlier bed time so that he just naturally falls asleep. Exercising throughout the day will help too. Maybe make him join a sports team at school.

    2) Valerian Root & Hops. Available in the grocery store’s supplement section.

    3) Warm Milk

    4) Lavender Scent

    5) White Noise

    6) Beer (hey, it worked for me when Ambien didn’t), I think it’s back to the Hops thing again.

    7) Have him do some wind-down stuff. As a family, the TV is turned off an hour and a half before he goes to bed, everyone talks for half-an-hour, then reads. No TV, no Computer, no Phone. It will unstimulate him and he may just find himself more tired from the long day.

    8) Explain to him that he’s growing up now and he’s getting to be too old for this. He needs to start taking responsibility for himself and prove to you that he’s becoming an adult and can be trusted with more and more responsibilities. If he can’t be getting himself up and out of bed and into school ontime, you’re not going to be dragging him out of bed anymore. He’s gonna have to face the consequences of his own actions. If he is late to school too many times they WILL hold him back. That means that all of his friends will make fun of him because they’re all moving on and graduating while he’s stuck in 9th grade, he’ll be in school longer learning the same crap over and over again, you wont be trusting him because he’ll be proving himself to be immature which means that you’re going to have to punish him and take away priveleges until he actually proves he can handle them, etc… I’d put the honus on him to do it instead of coddling him.
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  10. 10 cristinastewart@rocketmail.com
    2009 Nov 15

    Just before I go to bed I take a teaspoon of liquid honey and a half glass of milk..I always open my window part way(even in the cold weather)Quiet music helps too.And room should be dark.I do all of this every night and get a good nights sleep.Should help your son too.
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  11. 11 Himself
    2009 Nov 15

    "Q ball" has the most "natural"way. I’ve used exercise myself.
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  12. 12 Zip
    2009 Nov 15

    Often people have a little "ritual" they do before going to bed.
    This tends to "wake" them up.

    Try getting him ready for bed an hour so before bed time.

    If all else fails try some powder sugar doughnuts and chocolate milk!

    For him I mean! lol
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  13. 13 Kathy W
    2009 Nov 15

    I like the SADS light made by Apollo, amazon.com. 90 minutes to start.
    It helps you wind down by decreasing the SUN light. It naturally stimulates melatonin.
    Helps wake you up by simulating dawn. Great for shift work, also. Ocean waves from a white noise machine helps me relax.
    Using this resets the hypothalamus so your in sync,
    with the rest of the world.
    Make sure the bedroom is truly pitch black, total darkness is hard to achieve,I have bought black out curtains, they didn’t work as well as custom drapes.
    At 14 the hormones can kick in too, 1 to 2 years before puberty.
    References :
    http://sadtherapylamps.com/main/1?OVRAW=SADS&OVKEY=light%20therapy%20for%20sad&OVMTC=advanced&OVADID=8291065513&OVKWID=90404402013


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