<p>My son who has been on medical leave will return to college in September and will need to live on campus or nearby. I wondered if any other parent has had the experience of their child suffering from insomnia while away at college and the steps which parents have taken to help keep it at bay. I have begun to look into an accomodation of a single room through the college's disability office. I am also looking at off campus housing. Any other ideas or suggestions? thanks</p>
<p>Those are both good steps. I would also consult a counselor about this, and have your son see one of the school counselors as well. Is the problem that he is keeping crazy hours, or that he is kept awake by others' noise, or that he has a sleep disorder of some kind.</p>
<p>Insomnia has been an issue for my D since around 11th grade. (You can find my recent post on her hallucinations from sleep deprivation.) The biggest problem is that no suggestions will help unless and until your S takes ownership of the issue and decides to help himself. My D tends to want all her problems to be resolved by a pill rather than any effort or work on her part. Since most meds to help her sleep problems, and one that did, Ambien, caused a horrendous sleep walking and accidental med overdose last year, it has been extremely difficult.</p>
<p>After the hallucination issue, and some complaints by her roommates, my D will have her own "sleeping room" at the sorority while still sharing her common room with one of her three former roommates. The other two are moving to the room next door that opened up this semester. After sleeping through an important class on Thursday morning, she is going to try the following things that she was unable to do while she had roommates. First, she is going to use "Clocky", an alarm clock that wanders around the floor until you get up, catch it and turn it off. Second, I just ordered her a full spectrum light that simulates "dawn". It slowly brightens over the pre-set period, and it has gotten good reviews. I hope the light will also help with her mood, as it has been hard for a girl from So Cal to adjust to the interminable gray winter of the midwest.</p>
<p>I think my D's problem is partly her circadian rhytm and partly underlying stress and anxiety. I have encouraged the usual non-med remedies for her anxiety (exercise, yoga, meditation, self-hypnosis, etc.) but with only minimal effort on her part to try them.</p>
<p>Also, because they say using the computer or watching TV before bed can be a problem because of the blue light, I ordered her a pair of amber glasses to wear if she needs to work late at night. She said she will try them.</p>
<p>Also, we registered my D with the office of students with disabilities (OSWD) this year. Because some of her core classes get pre-assigned, we needed to keep her out of 8 AM classes. If your son can get the appropriate documentation, it is worth doing. My D can get an excused absence for the class she missed with a note from her counselor at the OSWD.</p>
<p>Good luck to both you and your son. Insomnia is a much bigger problem than most people realize. Those who sleep well and easily take it for granted.</p>
<p>thanks for the suggestions-- yes, my son receives therapy for anxiety and depression and has seen a doctor at a sleep disorder clinic- he too just wanted to take pills to "sedate" himself-- He no longer is taking any medication for anxiety or depression, and has been not using any sleep aid for the past month. He even went on a trip with a friend and shared a room in a hotel, and was able to sleep without the use of Ambien, etc. He seems to have come to a realization that constantly worrying about his insomnia just makes it worse. I am not sure what caused the breakthrough moment for him, but I am hoping he will be able to avoid too many relapses. He seems more mindful of the need to keep to a reasonable schedule, and has more energy, now that he is sleeping, which allows him to get exercise (which promotes good sleep). In the past, he would procrastinate and then try to stay awake to work on assignments to meet the deadline. His roommate also was a night owl, which kept him up. I too have learned to have tremendous empathy for those persons who suffer from insomnia.</p>
<p>I agree with the steps you have taken. My kids also have chronic health issues and are contemplating medical single rooms to facilitate their sleep and health. It is tough because the kids don't want to be "different" and so many kids are able to stay up all hours with no ill effects, complete with procastination. It is hard for our kids to have good habits with people all around them getting away with BAD habits.</p>
<p>My DH & DD have horrid insomnia, always have. I sleep very soundly. I used to think it was situational, but having seen it over DH's adult life of the past 30 years and watched DD grow up an insomniac, we have all learned a lot. Doctors can mainly provide drugs; it is, better to find ways to deal with it on your own, at least before trying the meds.</p>
<p>A couple of smart things are choosing a schedule that works well with your rhythm. My DD as a toddler slept in until 9-10am and stayed up late.....the other kids were normal, but she has always been shifted to be a night owl. I am not unable to sleep, but am a night owl.</p>
<p>My kids try to have all their classes start late. This has worked quite well for them since they started college (didn't work with HS). When possible, they like classes to start at noon or later!</p>
<p>Pacing is a great tool to help them, so even if they have to have an early day or two, they have time to recover and don't have ALL their days start with a 8am or earlier class. S has always had a tough time falling and reamining asleep. He's installed blackout curtains in his apartment and is very happy with them (even with minor light leaks). His room mate is pretty fine, even with the light on while S is doing his thing late at night/early in the morning.</p>
<p>I agree that many of the remedies for insomnia are worse than just dealing with it as some of the meds are very addictive and less and less effective. We tried S on Ambien and it was a very bad experience for him. He also tried the therapeutic bright light with mixed results. D has milder insomnia and later classes really help her (as it does S).</p>
<p>My D has had periods of insomnia. Both having trouble falling asleep and at other times being able to fall asleep but not stay asleep.
When she was young we found sleeping in socks (odd but it helped).
Living in a dorm was a disaster. Also in living in houses or apartments with many roommates on widely different schedules also was extremely unhealthy for her. She moved recently into a smaller apartment with less people. She still has trouble falling asleep but not nearly as bad.
She also was not patient about trying relaxation techniques. She was afraid of taking anything addictive. Her Dr put her on Trazadone. Trazadone is an antidepressant that helps some people sleep. She took that for about a year. She has been off of it for about 10 months. She is now using mediation to relax her mind. Also I have heard of several people who take Benadryl to help them sleep.</p>
<p>My S also used very low doses of Trazadone for a while. It helped but he didn't continue after he had more control over his schedule & was able to choose his start time & make it later in the day. Blackout curtains have made a HUGE difference for his sleep & health.</p>
<p>My DH has found that learning that this is the way things are and getting up and doing something works best for him. Sometimes just not fighting it helps you, not to fall asleep that minute, but to not be upset and maybe fall asleep in an hour ad have gotten something done in the meantime</p>
<p>As someone with multiple sleep disorders (that were undiagnosed when I was an undergrad):</p>
<p>Anyone in college with a sleep disorder needs to realize that it can do a number on their academic performance, and should stay in close contact with the school's student support/counseling services.</p>
<p>Does your son have a sleep doctor? S/he might have recommendations, and possibly a referral for a sleep doctor near the college.</p>
<p>Good sleep hygiene can be helpful but is unfortunately not enough to do everything that is needed to "normalize" sleep. I agree that working with the school's disability/counseling office can be very helpful and is appropriate.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the comments. I am concerned about my son's return to dorm life and would like him to consider living at home and attending a local college so he could maintain better "sleep hygiene." He attends an ivy league school, and it is hard for him to accept it may not be a good fit. He has seen a doc at a sleep disorder clinic near home, who prescribed Ambien, and alternatively has used Benadryl too. He has black out shades, sleeps with ear plugs, runs a fan which makes white noise, keeps the temp. low, etc. He sometimes gets up to watch tv or read, when he feels unable to go back to sleep after using the bathroom. His insomnia is more acute when he is stressed, and he has tried some breathing exercises for relaxation, although I am not certain he does so consistently. It is hard for a young person to accept the restrictions on lifestyle that insomnia can bring. I am convinced from your comments that the late class schedule will be a necessity. I hope that courses in his major will be available later in the day.</p>
<p>Actually the later classes are considered hihgly desirable to MANY/MOST students. It really is hard for our kids to be reigned in with physical limitations and figure out how to accept them and minimize flares/crashing with stress of course worsens.</p>
<p>Even for folks with no health conditions, stress can cause or worsen any sleep issues. Good luck in working with your son in working out something that will work for him. A medical single is worthwhile exploring to see if that would allow him to enjoy campus and all that it offers.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, you <em>can</em> maintain good sleep hygiene in a dorm, especially with a single. I'm rather personally biased here, but I'd say that the condition is not, by itself, a reason for him to leave his college and attend a local one.</p>
<p>I've read of MANY students who have found medical singles make a huge difference in their health and regulating their hours and sleeping when they want/need to--it's something Us are well-aware of!</p>