How do you help your child with sleep issues?

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Due to earthquakes, then a rare hostage situation not in our immediate area but close enough that there were helicopters were flying over our house, then news helicopters, and sirens...my Dd is convinced that someone is going to break into our house and doesn't want to sleep. Regardless, of it being a safe neighborhood, and nothing occurring on our street she still won't sleep. What has worked with your child with sleep issues??

My daughter is 13 and used to stay awake all night with her worries and be exhausted the next morning. We have a fan running beside her to block out noises because we have noisy neighbours and she seems to have bionic hearing. She also takes 1 mg of melatonin since last September and this really helps her get to sleep and stay asleep. I had read online about its benefits for autistic children and had to try it. She hates taking pills even for pain, but she asks for her melatonin. It is completely safe and natural.

My son was a pretty horrible sleeper- waking often, waking too early, and taking forever to go to sleep as well as needing someone to lay with him. I think this was partly due to his age (he is almost 4) but also due to anxiety and his constantly running mind. He would literally fall asleep talking or mouthing words because his brain was going full speed while his body was ready to collapse with exhaustion.
Anyway- I feel preeeetty safe now saying that we've really turned a corner and I don't expect any big regressions. He sleeps through the night maybe 6 nights a week and goes to sleep on his own, in his bed, in his room- Hurrah! We did a lot of the normal "sleep training" type stuff sitting on his bed, then moving to a chair, then moving further away etc. None of it seemed to work until we started giving him a juice cocktail before bed containing inositol and GABA. Then he just started improving, slowly until he got to this point. I have the same problem with my mind running at night so I sometimes take the same cocktail of inositol and GABA and it is very calming and relaxing. My mind just quiets, the anxious thoughts just disappear and I can finally rest. Anyway, do your research, it might be right for your loved one. Sleep is so important. Our lives have really changed for the better. Good luck.

Since we do attachment parenting, I had no trouble with my dd needing a lot of support going to sleep (nursing to sleep, sharing our bed, having someone lie down with her, etc.). Unlike my other kids, she prefers absolute darkness, no distractions, quiet, and closed doors. (I think it's really important to figure out what works for each of them.) But later on, long after she was happy sleeping in her own bed, she said it was hard to get to sleep. She definitely has anxiety issues and her teacher described it as "looping": turning things over and over in her mind. She explained it to me in some detail. Her psychologist suggested melatonin, but I also felt we needed to change her bedtime routine after a relaxed summer. She still goes to bed late, because she really can't relax until she's finished all her work, but she has made good progress in managing her stress and being able to sleep.
J.

Thank you for your replies! I have been giving her liquid melatonin 1mg before bed and it has been working great. I have tried to skip a night (she didn't want to take it) and she was up like an owl until she took the melatonin. So it will continue to be part of the nighttime routine. Now I'm slowly decreasing the amount I put in her drink.