12 days to a new you - sleep

Water, fruits, vegetables and now sleep. Sleep probably should have been the first on this list but at the time I really wasn't sleep deprived and did not give it much though. Children generally get all the sleep they need because as parents we not only encourage this good habit but we need it for our own sanity. It is not all that uncommon to hear parents say "they look like angels in their sleep." Ok maybe that's just me but that mid-afternoon nap is a welcomed break for me and my little Bear, now two years old. I know, that will soon will end but for now I will cherish every minute of his nap.

Then kids start school and the nap goes away, which is fine because they are a little older and can tolerate staying up all day for the most part. However, we generally ensure kids get to bed early enough so that they still get all their needed rest. In my house, bedtime for the little Bear and Peanut (6) is 8:00 pm, both wake up at 7:30 the next day. Sometimes I wish I could do that.

Now the teenagers in my house have a completely different sleep pattern. It is amazing to watch this metamorphosis in my kids. It's like they need more sleep then when they were babies. However, teens tend to stay up later and still wake up at the same dark hours of the morning to go sit in a class where they will most likely be present only in body. Their brain is still sleeping. It's like they're afraid they'll miss something if they go to bed at a reasonable time. On the other hand, many kids are just loaded with school work and after school activities, therefore, as important as sleep may be, they just don't have the time to fit in the 9+ hours they really need to function properly.

After some time we become accustomed to sleeping a certain number of hours at night, maybe seven or eight; in my case five or six. We have our reasons. I generally stay up past the time when everyone goes to bed because it's quiet time for me which I use to study, read, catch up on some funny TV show previously recorded (love the DVR) and even catch up on chores. I almost always wake up five or six hours after I got to sleep and my goal is to change that pattern to seven or 8 hours which means I need to manage my day time hours with more precision. Here are some things I've learned about sleep:

Risks of sleep deprivation:

- fatigue

- higher risk of disease

- compromised immune system

- lack of concentration, inability to learn

- weight gain--ugh!

- mood disorders, depression

- difficulty processing daily tasks such as driving

Some Benefits of sleep

- sleep is right up there with eating, it is food for the brain

- improved ability to function

- improved mood

- restores what is lost during the day- muscle tissue, hormonal balance

- improved memory and ability to learn

Resources for sleep can be found all over the web. I found these sites to have great information on sleep for everyone in the family, check it out:

1. Healthy Sleep: Understanding the third of our lives we so often take for granted.

2. The National Sleep Foundation has an excellent article on Sleep and Teens

3. BabyCenter.com covers in great detail their sleep patterns and even tips on how to get them to hit the rack without complaining.

4. My younger kids like Kidshealth.org because it speaks directly to the kids about any health topic.

Sleep tight! Stay Well,

6 Comments

I’m one of those people who truly need 8-9 hours of sleep to be at my best. No, I don’t always get that…or even come close. But, I am realizing it’s importance. Now, that I’m trying to build some healthy muscle to increase my metabolism, it’s more important then ever so I can recover during my sleep, and don’t lose that hard earned muscle. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Fitness Surfer | December 15, 2008 at 14:57