Sleep: A Parenting Tool
Wait, what? Sleep is a parenting tool?! It most definitely is an overlooked tool for us tired & cranky parents.
Sleep regulates our cortisol (stress hormone),reboots our brain, helps us create, maintain and sustain memories. Getting a good night sleep helps you lose weight. ! It's true, sleeping is part of an awesome diet and health plan. Sleep is so, so, so important and we often think we can get by without it.
Seriously, what if you could be more patient, creative and encouraging and the only thing you had to change was get even just a little more sleep?
8 Ways to Increase Sleep
1. Set and uphold regular bed & wake up times for everyone in the house using American Association of Pediatrics guidelines listed below . (psssst. . . in includes our age group. We can't stay up until 1 am because the quiet is so delicious, and then wake up at 6 am because we have to, and then expect that we will act rationally when, not if, our four year old has a temper tantrum. We all need 7 to 9 hours a night.
2. Device free one hour before your official bedtime.
3. Everyone gets into bed about 1/2 hour before their designated sleep time and do quiet, tech free activity.
4. Release the temptation to control, nag and be concerned about when people actually fall asleep. Focus on upholding your devices down hour and bedtime limits. Do not focus on the sleep. You can not make anyone eat, poop or sleep, as much as we try.
5. Declutter all bedrooms. Why do we sleep so well in a hotel room? Because it's clutter free. No clothes talking meanly to us that they need to be washed, or they don't fit. No giant pile of books we should read to be a better parent, a shrewder investor, less anxious, more fit, or get a green thumb. No kids toys dumped on the floor. No piles of kids artwork to sort. No bills. No unframed photos making us feel guilty & lazy. What would happen if our bedrooms looked like, even just sorta like, our favorite hotel room? Imagine?! Sigh . . . . .
6. Avoid binge mentality - keep disruptive nights out, sleepovers and sleeping in late to a minimum. Do what you can to wake up around the same time every day. Do what you can. I understand parties, teens, good movies, catching up on Netflix binge watching . . . all I ask is that you are mindful and keep disruptions to a reasonable number.
7. Stop eating 2 hours before bed. Drinking (anything) is best shut down around then, or even earlier. You might feel hungry at bedtime, it passes and it really helps your sleep when you give your insides a break.
We can't do all of these at once, don't even try! But thinking about sleep as a way to minimize the nagging and maximize the cooperation might give you new motivation to uphold limits, create a couple routines and just all around get the rest you need!
RECOMMENDED HOURS (FROM THE American academy of pediatrics)
Infants (4-12 months): 12-16 hours
Toddlers (1-2 years): 11-14 hours
Preschoolers (3-5): 10-13 hours
School age children (6-12): 9-12 hours
Teenagers (13-19): 8-10 hours
Adults: 7-9 hours