Get More Sleep
Sleep is a lot like sex. If you’re not getting as much as you’d like, it can become an obsession. Suddenly, all you can think about is when you last had it, how great it felt, and what you can do to get some again. And it’s not just new parents fantasizing about scoring more shut-eye: there are toddlers’ night terrors to deal with, and sleepless anxiety over when your teen is going to come home. If you consider that moms and dads can lose up to 400 hours of sleep per parent by the end of baby’s first year alone, it’s a wonder that most parents are even functioning!
Barely, that is. Consider that losing just one night of sleep causes a 30 per cent decline in cognitive performance. Two nights and you’re down 60 per cent. Other effects of too few zzzs: no energy, less patience, mood swings and some serious tension between you and your partner. “There were nights that I hated my husband, when I had to get up and he could stay in bed, drooling and snoring into his pillow,” recalls Amanda, 24-year-old mom of two-year-old Jace. Before you file divorce papers, try these sleep solutions to help the whole family get more rest.
SLEEP STEALER #1
Your baby’s popping up more often than a horror-flick villain
Sleep solution If your baby is a newborn, being hungry in the night is perfectly normal. Even at six months and beyond, when many babies start sleeping for a five-hour stretch or more at night, she may wake up for a feed whenever she’s going through a growth spurt. Encourage night sleeping by ensuring that she’s getting naps and enough to eat during the day, maintaining a regular, soothing bedtime routine and choosing an absorbent diaper brand, as well as warm sleepwear free of scratchy tags and lace. Talk to your family doctor – and supportive friends who have been there – if problems persist.
SLEEP STEALER #2
Your wee one is up with the birds every morning
Sleep solution Believe it or not, babies and even older children who wake up as early as 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. are generally overtired. Try shifting baby’s bedtime so it falls a little earlier in the evening, and he might sleep in longer in the morning. (I know, it’s counterintuitive, but it works.) Then toast the dawn with non-alcoholic champagne and orange juice the first day she sleeps past 6:00 a.m. – a decent sleep-in time for a baby. Other triggers of early-morning waking may include noises, separation anxiety, teething or illnesses like ear infections.
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