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insomnia

Trauma Tuesday: Insomnia

Submitted by FaithA on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 06:54
  • child abuse
  • Foster adoption
  • Foster care
  • insomnia
  • night terrors
  • nightmares
  • Older child adoption
  • Trauma Tuesday
  • Traumatized children

Traumatized Adopted Child (c) Julie C

Many traumatized foster or adopted children struggle with insomnia. When you sleep, your subconscious processes your life experiences. When your life experiences have been filled with terror, this frequently results in nightmares and night terrors. I have been in another phase of insomnia for several weeks. It really wears you out when your body screams for sleep but then is unable to sleep during the night.

For some, the issue is having trouble falling asleep. For others, the issue is staying asleep. And then there are those like me, who struggle with both. It is awful to awaken with a jolt at 4:00 a.m. and know that falling back to sleep is a hopeless cause. Here are some tips you can try to help your foster or adopted child who is struggling with insomnia:

Create a Safe Environment

Makes sure everything in the child’s room helps him to feel safe. A weighted blanket will help the child feel more secure as he sleeps. The scent of vanilla and/or lavender (such as through a scented candle or spray) will help to calm the child. White noise, such as with a fan or humidifier, will help calm the child’s hypervigilance. Remove anything from the room that causes the child to feel stressed. 

  • FaithA's blog
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Weighted Blankets Really Help You Sleep

Submitted by JuliaFuller on Mon, 10/12/2009 - 14:00
  • Adoptee health
  • insomnia
  • natural sleep aids
  • Resources
  • weighted blankets help you sleep

Out of more than 300 entries for the May custom Weighted Blanket giveaway, I won. After seeing first hand, how the weighted blankets helped two of my children stay asleep all night, I was a believer. My husband, on the other hand was skeptical. I actually entered the contest to try to win a blanket for him. After it arrived, it immediately allowed him to sleep all night, but he reserved judgment, maintaining that only a few days had passed. He struggles with restless leg syndrome and symptoms that resemble PTSD. For decades, he has been waking up around 2 AM, and then he cannot get back to sleep. He got by with a few hours of sleep much better when he was younger. Now, with parenting 10 children, working full-time plus, and running a farm, the lack of sleep was wearing him down. After two weeks of using the weighted blanket every night, he has been converted. He admits that It really works.

It is better than sleeping pills because sometimes they cause drowsiness in the morning but the blanket does not. You do not have to worry about covering up with your blanket too late at night because you forgot to take it on time, and then sleeping through the alarm, like you do with sleeping pills. He used to take sleeping pills but did not like the side effects. Some caused him nightmares; others caused drowsiness and foggy thinking.

  • JuliaFuller's blog
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Trauma Thursday: Weighted Blankets for the Traumatized Child

Submitted by FaithA on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 06:48
  • child abuse
  • cures for insomnia
  • Foster adoption
  • Foster care
  • insomnia
  • Older child adoption
  • Trauma Thursday
  • Traumatized children
  • weighted blankets

Traumatized Adopted Child (c) JulieC

Over on my personal blog, a reader told me about a product called a weighted blanket. I had been talking about my issues with sleeping after child abuse, which includes the need to cover myself in heavy blankets. The reason is that the first sign that I was about to be abused as a child was the rush of cold air against my back as my covers were removed. So, to feel safe enough to fall asleep, I need to feel heavy covers “protecting” me.

The reader posted this comment:

Have you ever heard of weighted blankets? I have one, and it helps a lot (well… sleep is still a huge issue). They are filled full of plastic beads and can weigh up to 50 lbs. I got mine from Dream Catcher’s. I am a seamstress and these things are well made and well worth the money and the wait (mine took several months to arrive). You even get to choose your own fabrics. ~ Cera

I had never heard of such a thing. I checked out the site and was impressed.

  • FaithA's blog
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