Getting to Bed Early

Trying to make someone's body change from years of the same schedule is really not good for them. I assume the competition will NOT start at 6am but that you are traveling to it.

She can get up, get ready, get in the car, go back to sleep if she's able, etc...I think being well rested means not going out the day before and going on a 10 mile hike, not riding a bike in a BMX race, not jumping on the trampoline for 3 hours right before bedtime.

It won't hurt to have her lay down earlier but chances are she will lay there and fret and work herself up into a mess. I do believe that giving her something to make her more able to sleep may have side effects the next day that will change the outcome of the competition. Nothing like going into a competition while hung over with drugs in your system.

Let her watch a movie, TV, or read a book, do something quiet and restful so her body is resting but her mind is not being taxed. She will be fine for her competition.

I hope she does well.

Have her outside and run run run!! Then a bath around 830 and tell her she can read in her bed until 915. Hopefully then she'll be asleep by 930. I think her falling asleep 1.5 hours EARLY is going to be hard for her to do unless she's super tired.

If I know about something like this ahead of time, I try to make adjustments to the schedule a few days in advance. One day just doesn't work.

If you had wakened her an hour earlier yesterday and today, she would be in a much better position to fall asleep earlier (and waken earlier) tonight and tomorrow, and be well rested.

I wouldn't try to change much at this point. Maybe bump up bedtime by 30 minutes. Have her take a nice relaxing warm bath just before time to go to bed and then maybe read in bed for 20 minutes before lights out. The change in temps from warm bath to cool air can help the body relax for sleep.

Give her Valerian right around that 8:30 bath time.

Eat dinner no later than 7pm, and then start turning off/down lights.

ETA: Oh, yeah...forgot about Melatonin. That's a good one. Valerian is hard in capsule form because it's difficult to swallow the stink. I don't like pills, anyway, so the tincture works well for me. It might also work for your child. One full dropper to the back of the tongue and chase with orange juice.

Posters have mentioned melatonin. I have used that very effectively.

Turkey has seritonin which makes you relax and fall asleep on Thanksgiving after dinner.

I'd let her gets lots of physical exercise, feed her a big turkey dinner, then read her a story in a very boring, monotone voice and I'm sure she will go to sleep.

Good luck to you and yours.

Valerian smells like vomit, to be quite honest, so I would probably skip that one. I do melatonin for my kids- 1mg should do it, but I've given my 12 yr old up to 6 before and all of our various doctors have no issue with it. You can buy it at GNC and the 1mg is chewable (there is a time-release one that you can swallow too.)

Bach's also makes a sleep remedy spray (there is one for kids without alcohol.)