6 Year Old Wakes Up Between 4 & 5:30am EVERY DAY - Normal?

by Kelly

Hello,

My 6 year old son is a very bright and active child. However, he has struggled with sleep since he was an infant, and now at the age of 6, he still wakes up every night, typically between 4:00am and 5:30am. When he wakes up, he cannot fall back asleep by himself. Is this something we should investigate further, or is this normal?

During his infant/toddler years, it would take us anywhere from 2 to 3 hours to put our son to bed; he just would not fall asleep. Once he was finally asleep, he would wake up in the very early hours of the morning. As he's matured through preschool and now elementary school, he still struggles to fall asleep (usually a 1 - 1 1/2 hour process nightly), and he still wakes up in the very early hours of the morning. He is not fully rested at 4 or 5am; he is very tired, and needs to go back to sleep - but he cannot do so on his own.

We have heard our son snore occasionally (a few times a night), but it is not so chronic that he rattles the windows all night. He does not have night terrors, rarely talks in his sleep, and has only once or twice woken up complaining of having a nightmare.

In addition to the sleep concerns, our son is having difficulty paying attention and focusing at school; and he especially struggles with self control issues such as not talking loudly, tipping his chair back repeatedly, not sitting quietly during circle time, etc. We are concerned that his school is beginning to label him as ADHD, yet we are questioning whether there could possibly be some correlation with his sleep situation (or something else)?

If this were your son, would you investigate further - and if so - how? What specific testing would you request from your pediatrician?

Thank you.
Kelly

Kevin's Thoughts

Hey Kelly,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and questions about your son. Without being able to go into a lot of detail about specifics, I would say that if you're concerned about his sleep affecting his attention and behavior in school and throughout the day then it is definitely worth investigating further. Browsing the literature on the subject of childhood sleep, if you haven't already done so, may turn up some useful insights, tips, and stories that will better equip you. Additionally, if you think your son's lack of sleep is disruptive enough to warrant a trip to a professional, seeing a good sleep specialist may prove very helpful as well.

It's a very astute and important observation you make about the sleep concerns possibly being connected with the ability to focus and perform at school. There are definitely many cases where the ADHD label gets used unnecessarily for a child who's behavior is a result of sleep deprivation. In fact, it's a connection we make on this site and one made by Dr. Rafael Pelayo, one of the top childhood sleep specialists around. You can see that connection being made here.

I know I haven't been particularly illuminating here with anything you haven't heard, but it's hard to be real confident with any advice that's more specific. Many children grow out of difficulties sleeping, while others require a bit more special attention and effort. If you are concerned I would continue to educate yourself on the various scenarios and possibly go in for a polysomnogram (sleep study) to see if any abnormalities come up. Best wishes to you and your son.

Warmly,
Kevin

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