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How do I establish healthy sleeping habits for all ages?

Sleep is the single most effective thing we can do to reset our brain and body.

Healthy sleeping habits can mean anything and everything. So let’s focus on the things that you can do to help create a sleep routine that works for you and your child.

I religiously give myself 8 to 9 hours to sleep every night. Just last week a family member jokingly teased me about what time I go to bed. I am reminded just how easy it is to wear lack of sleep and “busy-ness” as a badge of honor these days.

You have a crucial responsibility to teach your little ones (and not so little ones!) that this doesn’t have to be the case. Good enough sleep impacts our ability to have a healthy functioning body, a stable mood that can prioritize tasks the next day and it makes us a joy to be around… most of the time!

If there is one thing that you can do to help your child get good sleep, it’s role modeling a solid sleep routine. Choose three things that help get you settled and do them each and every night.

For me: a cup of tea/hot cocoa, shower and brush teeth, read in bed. Once you have your routine sorted, help your child find their routine. Find three things they love and need to do before bed. And repeat.

The more you create a routine, the more on-point your sleep timing will become, and the happier and healthier both you and your kid will be.

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I wake up feeling like I spent the night being chased by a bear. Coronasomnia anyone?

As if the stress of the last couple months haven’t been enough, there is Coronasomia to deal with too. This overall lack of sleep is driving all of us crazy. Lying awake at night when you have a full day ahead only makes you feel more desperate, and less able to relax. So what’s going on?

Before the pandemic, The Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/03/coronavirus-sleep-insomnia/?utm_source=reddit.com] reports that about 10 – 15% of people worldwide were suffering from chronic insomnia. This specifically relates to the struggle to fall or stay asleep at least 3 nights a week for 3 months or longer. The article goes on to say “Crises such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks are known to trigger short-term sleeplessness. But experts say the pandemic’s unprecedented global impact and protracted nature threaten to expand the rate of chronic insomnia, which is much harder to treat.”

Having highlighted the above, I want to make this wildly obvious to you. If you do not take action to help yourself now, your tossing and turning left unmanaged will only get more frustrating for you. I am not saying this to scare you. So many of us do not prioritize 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night. And our blood pressure, hormones and overall recovery suffers so much because of it.

Choose 1 of the 3 and commit to the change. Switch off all screens 1 – 2 hours before bed. Stop reading the news for now – and I mean completely. You can go back to it when you are not so overwhelmed and stressed out. Get outside more (without your phone) and allow your body’s natural circadian rhythm to adjust to the daylight rather than staring at your laptop or mobile phone’s light. It will get better. The more you do activities that help you relax, the more your amygdala in your brain will quieten down and give you the rest you so desperately need.