My son Harper did not sleep for years, literally. He’d go to bed by 8 PM, then wake at 1:00 AM, 2:30 AM, 4:00 AM, 4:45 AM, and finally up at 6 AM. That was his schedule for 8 + years. He would cry, fuss, moan, scream, hit his head, pound on his wall, turn all the house lights on, and intentionally wet his bed every single night to wake me up. I tried everything. From sleeping in the same bed, Epsom salts baths, essential oils, high-powered fans, blackout curtains, weighted blankets, reflexology, craniosacral, massages, classical music, energy work, crystals under his bed, magnets in his pillow, melatonin, later bedtimes, rocking him, out loud prayers, tryptophan snacks, and even sleep medication as a last ditch effort.  

Long-term sleep deprivation is serious. I started to feel as if I was losing my mind, my control, my life. I did not know how much longer I could handle this nightmare cycle without feeling as if I would completely go mad. No amount of my favorite organic under eye concealer could hide our sleepless nights. I hardly had any breaks, no night-time nanny to save the day, or no miracle… as of yet. 

What I did learn in this troubling time of my life was that we HAD to sleep and we needed that miracle. For me, not having nearly the required sleep meant I felt “raw” and somehow more open to Divine messages for direction, for some hope. I kept searching for those answers and finally got some reprieve. The salts baths, essential oils, GABA L-theanine supplement, melatonin, with typhophen snack actually started to work. I diligently kept that routine with no budging. He also knew I was not coming to rescue him even if he was pounding on the wall, fussing, or wetting his bed. The rash on his thighs from his urine was the least of my worries because we slowly slowly started to get some good stretches of restorative sleep. It would take many months to repair my adrenals, to not have anxiety/PTSD before I hit the pillow, or to still pull out my under eye concealer every morning, but things were looking better. We noticed almost immediately positive shifts with his concentration, energy levels, and even his state of happiness. Now, most nights Harper sleeps between 8 and 9 hours, wet bed and all, but we will take it! 

My Top Sleep Tips for Children with Autism

• All common sense but a strict bedtime routine is essential for children, and especially for special needs children. Keep bedtime the same, even on the weekends. Eat dinner (the earlier the better), no ipad after 6PM, Epsom salt bath with essential oils, rocking chair time cuddling + singing, some deep pressure massage, and lights OUT with a big reminder that he needs to stay quiet in bed until the sun is up. Phew! 

• Turn lights down in the house & family TV off to send him a message that sleep is coming soon. Play relaxing classical or spa music in the house. I’ll be posting my Spotify Sleep Playlist that we love later this week!

• Try a tryptophan producing snack before bed, such as a banana, 1 tsp. almond or cashew butter & dash of Himalayan salt. We also added 4-6 oz of organic tart cherry juice 2 hours before bed to stimulate his body’s own production of melatonin.  

Side Note: Tryptophan is essential to make serotonin. Many special needs children have improper working guts, therefore unbalanced neurotransmitter production. When the gut is toxic and inflamed it cannot properly produce and transmit neurotransmitters which is trouble. Again, my own research strongly suggests that eliminating ALL gluten, dairy, soy, + processed sugar can help heal the gut in these sensitive children. Gluten and dairy especially act as a false opiate neuropeptides after being absorbed by a damaged leaky gut intestinal lining, so eliminate slowly. 

Helpful Daytime Supplements: 

• Thorne B Complex

• Vimergy Vegan Omega’s

• Health Force Spirulina 

• Life Extension Magnesium Threonate

• Mary Ruth’s Liquid Probiotic

Helpful Nighttime Supplements: 

• Vimergy Melatonin 5mg (not long-term)

• Quicksilver Scientific Liposomal GABA with L-Theanine  

• Natural Calm Magnesium Powder

• Gaia Herbs SleepThru

Recommended Book:

Go The Fu*k To Sleep, by Adam Mansbach for a needed laugh.

If you or your child is struggling to sleep, I hope these tips help! Check out my previous blog post for dietary tips for children with autism.

Health & Happiness,

Jen