Sleep Deprivation

I woke up around 4:30 this morning and could not go back to sleep. I tossed and turned; I counted sheep; I prayed; I said the 23 Psalm; I did yoga breathing and nothing helped. I let my thoughts wander and lay awake until the alarm went off at 6:00 and then I had to get up and be ready for work. While my thoughts did wander, I thought about sleep deprivation through one of my streams of consciousness, and decided I need to write about this. You see, for many years I was in the field of education. During my early years, there were many nights I was up late as there just wasn't enough time in the day, so it seemed, to accomplish everything that had to be completed. But the realization finally hit me, that when I didn't get enough sleep, I did not give my best to my family, nor to my students and fellow faculty members and I did not accomplish as much when I was tired. I decided sleep had to become a priority.

Adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night according to research and while there are those who sometimes claim to need less, research now shows that these people are sleep deprived and do not perform well on simple tasks. Also, those who sleep less than or more than the prescribed hours on an on going basis, tend to die younger than those who sleep the 7-8 hours. (Information from the Mayo Clinic website.) Additionally, children need much more sleep than we do as adults. I found an easy chart for babies at Babycenter.com and the number of hours infants and toddlers need is far more than most children actually get these days.

Because my early morning thoughts turned to lack of sleep I recalled those years before when I so consciously guarded my sleep and since I would be substitute teaching today and didn't want to be grumpy with my students I was concerned about being unable to return to sleep. Which led to me then thinking about choosing happiness. How can anyone choose happiness if they are sleep deprived? And how can you expect your children to be happy if they are sleep deprived? Maybe we could be a kinder nation if we all bothered to get enough sleep each night. We spend a lot of time running around from activity to activity, from chore to chore, and once we are exhausted we collapse into bed after yelling at the kids to go to bed, falling into a fitful sleep from which we know we will be awakened in far too short of time. And if this pattern goes on and on, your effectiveness as a parent, as a friend, worker, etc. will diminish. However, if you make sleep a priority, maybe you will find yourself accomplishing more and your relationships improving. I encourage you to make an all out effort for you and your children. Having troubled bedtimes with the kids? There are many websites which offer lots of effective ideas, but most importantly, remember, you are the parent and you have the final word. The Babycenter website warns against thinking your child does not need as much sleep as recommended. Children who can't fall asleep at night are generally sleep deprived. So take some time in your journal to come up with some new bedtime routines for the family and see if you can't help everyone have a happier day! Choose happiness by giving yourself the chance to be rested.