early to bed, early to rise

8.14.2014

we go through the same routine every night: bath, books, milk, songs. by the end of the last verse, august's eyes have slowly blinked their last blink and his head hangs precariously over my forearm. i walk over to his crib where we sway another couple of minutes until i feel the full weight of his exhaustion and lie him down. most nights that's it. last night it wasn't. it took a thirty-minute struggle and an honest rally against bedtime before august finally tucked his feet up under him, pushed his butt into the air, and fell asleep. as i stood over his crib, listening to his breath over the ocean waves of his sound machine - making sure this was it this time - i wondered why he fights it.

probably for the same reason i do. we're so tired we don't know what we want.

for most parents, a full night of uninterrupted sleep is only a vague pre-child memory. after months of midnight feedings and bouts with teething, we get so far into sleep debt that we don't even recognize it until something gives. getting sick AND injured last month is what made me realize it. by skimping out on proper rest, i missed out on all its benefits; from the immune system boost to the muscular recovery. and it didn't stop there, my mood was "off", the simple act of concentraion was a task, and my skin had the opposite of a healthy glow.

i shouldn't blame my lack of sleep all on parenthood though. many nights i stay up way past august because i view it as time for myself. i'll cut right into those precious sleeping hours tooling around on my computer or watching tv and not actually doing anything for myself. the next morning is always a harsh reminder of my neglect. i'm the one dragging myself out of bed and hobbling around, while august is already waiting for me with bright eyes and the rightful enthusiam of someone who just got ten hours of sleep. one look at his smiling face and flawless complextion is all it takes to recognize the benefits of a bedtime. i need to do what he's doing.

so i've created my own bedtime ritual to make sure i'm nourishing and nurturing my self as well as i have been doing for august - just a few small changes to help me get better rest so that i can be the best for the people and things i love. hopefully it'll help me to uwind so that i can sleep better and deeper, even if it's broken by the occasional middle-of-the-night-soothing.

1. get between seven to ten hours of sleep. the body goes through its natural cycle for repair during sleep and most of that work is powered by the brain. if you cut sleep short, you're not giving your brain enough time for all the repairing and restoring and rebalancing it has to do.
2. limit the tv to one show a night. {the netflix marathons need to stop!} not only are tv shows stimulating to the mind, but the glow of the tv is actually so bright that it can stop the release of the hormone that regulates sleep: melatonin. your body ends up missing the message and you stay up watching "just one more episode" instead.
3. be in bed at 9pm. read a book, write in my journal, cuddle with andy, or do whatever relaxed thing you always wish you had more time for.
4. go to sleep when i'm tired. this is a no brainer, but so many times i ignore the signals because "it's still early!" or "there's so much to do!"
5. at the very latest, have lights out by 10pm. the deepest and most regenerative sleep occurs between then and 2 am. the hours slept before midnight are proven to be especially effective and they always say "nothing good ever happens after midnight" anyway, so.

sweet dreams!

19 comments:

Brikena Sela said...

tell me about it! well.. i dont have kids... but i do have a boyfriend who snores lol and i am a very light sleeper... and there have been COUNTLESS nights when i wouldn't wake up in the morning because I was up the whole time. it really does ruin everything... i could see myself become angrier and just out of it as the days passed until i said you need to sleep in the living room til i revive myself for a couple of days lol

xo, Brikena
www.jarofjoy.blogspot.com

Amy S. said...

Right on point.
It's tricky for me because I start work very early (6 AM!), so I wake up at 4:30...yuck. Which makes it almost impossible to get 8 hours of sleep, because no matter how hard I try, I can't make myself go to bed at 8 pm. So I usually average 5-ish hours, then maybe an hour-long nap in the afternoon. Which isn't ideal, really.

So I really ought to implement some of these suggestions for myself...except for the cuddling with Andy thing. I'll leave that one to you. :-)

Christine Dinsmore said...

since having my twins i go on about 5-7 hours of sleep. i actually think it works better for me, more than that and i am in a brain fog. less than that i feel like i definitely should not operate heavy machinery. but i slept a lot before them, so i figure it's a balancing out of sorts. luckily i work from home, so even though i don't get a ton of sleep, now that my kids are older i can lay down for a few minutes throughout the day to re-energize. but really with a babe, you truly do need that extra rest!! this sounds like a great plan.

lucinda said...

haha! sounds like you might benefit from investing in a pair of ear plugs! xx

lucinda said...

ohmygoodness, i couldn't imagine having to get up at that hour everyday! and i totally get that it's hard to go to sleep at 8pm, but 5 hours... how do you function? i'd be zombie! ;D

lucinda said...

twins! i'm a twin! you must've had your hands full when they were babies! ;) glad to hear that now you have the opportunity to get naps in - that is key.

lucinda said...

oh no! maybe try moving your bed time up 15min? or blackout curtains for the morning! have you tried those?

Amy S. said...

Ha! Your brother-in-law has asked me that same question more than once. I suppose I'm just used to it by now.
Don't get me wrong, I do love my sleep. I also tend to make up the deficit on the weekends!

Amy@eatsleepdecorate said...

These are some fantastic tips Luci! I need to be more on a routine. I am also at fault when it comes to netflix marathons. What ever happened to reading books? You have motivated me for sure and I am headed to B&N today! xoxo

Hannah Smith | fox and willow said...

gosh! so many good reminders! Your list looks pretty darn close to what I need to implement. dang, that netflix, gets me everytime!

rebecca said...

We do, i think thats whats causing it! I have always had natural light come in in the morning, now its pitch black so were both waking up and can't even open our eyes haha.

Heather @ Run Like a G! said...

Great reminders! I definitely fight the "I'm so tired but it is too early to go to bed!" Sleep is so important!!!! :)

lucinda said...

ha! yeah, it's such a time trap... but such a good one! ;)

lucinda said...

oh! makes sense. i read about circadian rhythms are built on natural light.

lucinda said...

especially when you're training for a marathon, girl! ;)

Petra said...

ugh. I never go to bed before midnight. I tried. but it's such a hard habit to break... great reminder

Katie Flood said...

Yes! I've been sick this last month with two sick babies and getting up multiple times a night hit me HARD. There were a couple nights I went to bed as soon as the baby did! Last night was the first night he slept through the night in 3 weeks and I was still up at 3 - it was like my body already was used to getting up so it was like - 7 straight hours! Get up! Ugh. Here's to all the mommas getting more sleep.

lucinda said...

hear! hear!
i'm sorry to hear about everyone being run down, i can't imagine how that was with having to take care of the babies as well as yourself! at least you were smart to go to bed at a good hour - rest is so important!

rebecca said...

Much needed facts at the moment as my partner and I are both waking up at 7am during REM. Its painful, difficult and we have NO idea why. We are usually in bed by 11.00-11.30pm. Its taking me 5 minutes to be able to actually open my eyes - Gah. Bec x DTS

 

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