sleep

Cutting out cheese and bananas from DD's diet (as per a naturopath) improved the ammount of night wakings/restlessness when she was a similar age.
We got strict on the evening routinue so that she couldnt use needing to go loo/ have a drink etc as an excuse not to settle to sleep. We left a drink of water by her bed for a long time so that if she did need a drink she didnt have to come out for it. We also got one of those clocks that lights up when its ok for them to get up ( from the lseepstore) and started a star reward chart for staying in bed all night til the clock light went on,...with a small reward after about 5 good night.
Haveing siad that, it wasnt til she was 4 3/4 that she was reliably sleeping through every single night.

My step son did the same thing nightly until about 2 months ago, when he was 3 years 8 months. Used to wake up screaming and crying and could take up to 3 hours to re-settle.

Since moving to a new house (old one was cold and damp) and sticking a heater in his room, as well as putting in a night light, he's started sleeping right through. We also started letting him stay up a little later, and that, with the extra energy being used up at daycare, seems to make all the difference. Occasionally he'll wake up crying, but I try and let him self soothe, and more often than not, he will whimper for a while and then go back to sleep.

If he gets up, we're really strict on not letting him into our bed, its straight back to his bed, though sometimes myself and my partner can be up for a good hour getting him back to sleep.

Does your daughter get nightmares or have any fears? Perhaps going to bed too early?

You're definitely not alone, and I hope you find a way out of the cycle!