3 year old trouble sleeping

My 3 year old has always been a terrible sleeper, at 26 months old he stopped naps completely but would sleep a full 12 or 13 hours. Now at 3 years old his actual bedtimes are getting later and later, and his sleep seems to be only about 10 or 11 hours each day. He wakes himself up between 7:30 and 8 a.m. then we put him to bed no later than 8 p.m., but he stays awake in his room FOREVER, sometimes 1 or 2 hours after we turn out the lights. He'll stay in his room but look at books, change his pajamas, or just wiggle around. Sometimes he'll call for me for very simple requests, "can you put this shirt on me" "can I have some water?" "I need my blanket" etc. I do indulge him because he's generally always very polite and will stay in his bed and wait for me to come to him, and most times (up until recently) the simple requests he's asked for will be enough for him to go to sleep. I have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep and am worried he is doomed to my fate as well. Anything we can do to help him fall asleep faster?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

I don't think the focus should be on his falling asleep earlier - Mother Nature will take care of that aspect of things. However, you can stop catering to him at night and stop deferring to his requests. In other words, the part of this you can control is your own behavior, and that is where I would suggest you focus.