Think about how you perform when you are sleep-deprived. You are probably a little irritable? Your thinking might be a little foggy? Chances are that you are not at your best, whether at work or otherwise. We need sleep. And just having a bit will not do.
Now for the bad news: most of us are not getting nearly enough. It is hard to find good data, but one recent “survey” showed that 94 percent of Australians aren’t getting enough sleep. And the costs are significant. With every new brain/sleep study that is published, we are learning more and more about just how incredibly important sleep is for our children – and for us, as parents.
7 reasons enough sleep is crucial
Sleep impacts a bunch of things – for us as adults, and for our children – including:
- Behaviour – we are increasingly likely to act out, or struggle to control or regulate behaviour when sleep deprived.
- Emotion – who doesn’t get moody, depressed, anxious, stressed, or irritable when they’re tired?
- Concentration – we tend to lose the ability to pay attention to anything. Our plans fall into disarray, and our kids do poorly in school (and we do poorly at work) when tired.
- Unsophisticated thinking – we are reactive, poor at problem-solving, uncreative, and generally narrow in our thinking when we’re too tired.
- Brain growth – when we are tired, we end up struggling with our intelligence. When we sleep (particularly in REM sleep, which is the final sleep stage), our brain prunes itself, cleanses itself, and stores memories. Lack of sleep inhibits brain function.
- Physical costs: - when tired, we become clumsy. We’re also too tired to exercise, which means that we’re more likely to gain weight. (Lack of sleep is a major predictor of obesity.).
- Health – tiredness reduces our immune capacity, so we’re likely to be sick more frequently
Updated guidelines on sleep
Because it’s so important that we get a handle on sleep, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has just released official recommendations on how much sleep anyone from four months to 18 years old should be getting. This is what the AASM recommends:
- Babies four to 12 months old should get 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
- Children one to two years old, 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
- Children three to five, 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps)
- Children six to 12 years old, nine to 12 hours
- Teenagers 13 to 18 years old, eight to 10 hours
Here are my top tips for getting enough sleep:
Create a good and CALM routine
Routine means going to bed around the same time each night, and having a predictable sequence to follow. This keeps everyone calm. Perhaps after dinner you might have toilet, teeth, story, song, and sleep.
Make the room comfy
We all know how hard it is to get a good sleep on an uncomfortable bed in a noisy, bright, hot (or cold) room. Keep the temperature comfortable, block out noise and light, and buy a high-quality mattress.
Shut down devices
Screens should stay out of bedrooms as much as possible. It can be helpful to have a central charging station where all of the family’s electronics spend the night – perhaps in the living room or kitchen. You don’t want to create a family battle over the issue, but it is worthy of a discussion. And remember that bright screens (or brightly lit rooms) can delay melatonin release and, as a result, the onset of sleep.
Lastly, your body will usually respond with more vitality if you go to bed early than if you try to sleep in.
We want our kids to succeed in life – and it just may be that getting enough sleep could be one of the best ways to make that happen.
