Sleep: Why Bother!

There are a thousand bloggers that can tell you funny stories, to make you feel better about your own lack of sleep. Stories about putting the milk away in the pantry, or wearing two different shoes, or putting eyeliner on one eye...but not the other. 

But sleep deprivation doesn't only lead to silly mistakes, and it's not only a concern for adults:
When the body doesn't get enough sleep, it's owner is more likely to be cranky, or to take offense when they otherwise would see none. More likely to pick fights, cry over things they could ordinarily shrug off, or make a poor choice. More likely to eat less healthy foods, and be less capable of retaining information. 

NPR recently mentioned in a story that sleep deprivation is blamed for over 200,000 accidents a year in the United States..that doesn't account for accidents where the cause was unknown, or it was a contributing factor. 
If you can't safely drive a car without enough sleep, how can you be an effective parent?
As the child, how can you do your job, which is to learn?

When you are exhausted, you're more likely to act without thinking: to yell, to see the negative, and even to physically hurt someone. But you also can't retain information. 
As a parent, maybe this means more things 'fall through the cracks' and you're scrambling to catch up. 
As a child, you may sit in school, but not absorb the lesson.

To be successful in school, in sports, in friendship and in life, we need to ensure we take care of our bodies and our brains. It has now been made clear that sleep is not sedation, and that important brain functions need that time to work.

Parents. Please. Make sure your child is getting enough sleep. If you need to wake them in the morning, they are not. 
Parents. Please. Make sure you are getting enough sleep. Needing an alarm clock means needing to shut the lights off earlier. 

We tell our kids to have big dreams.
Make sure they have the time to do it!

If you need help organizing your time and commitments, or building your dreams, please visit me at http://mommybutstillme.com or email  debhurowitz@yahoo.com
Groups for new parents will begin at Temple Beth Am in Framingham, in March.