Do you have a hard times getting your children to go to sleep at night? An even harder time waking them up in the morning? Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Do you feel lethargic and tired during the day? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Millions of Americans have issues that revolve around sleep. The good news is that many of these ills can be cured and corrected… at the least made better.

This blog will attempt to tackle this issue in three points. Please understand this is a topic we could write on for weeks and still not address this topic adequately. However, this will be a good starting point for you to do some self-examanination and help you establish proper sleep hygiene for you and your family.

Why Sleep is Important:

1. We need it to remain healthy. The average adults needs 8 hours a sleep of day. Some can function on 6, where others may need 10. Know you. Infants and small children need even more.
2. Lack of sleep increases Irritability
3. Lack of sleep decreases your producitivity at work and with family.
4. Lack of sleep increases your chances for accidents (e.g., falling asleep behind the wheel).
5. Over the span of your life, lack of sleep increases your chances for high blod pressure, heart attacks, strokes, ADD (hint hint to my parents), depression, and obseity– to name a few.

Factors that inerfere with our Sleep:

1. Stress. This can come from your job, spouse, children, parents, teachers, school work, exams, deadlines, bills,… get the picture (Any and Everywhere). One way our body will let us know we are experiencing stress is by many restless nights. Listen to your body.
2. Alcohol, caffine, and nicotine. Especially, when it is too close to bed time.
3. Sleeping with the television set on.
4. Exercising too close to bed time.
5. Taking “naps” during the day. If you need to routinely take “power naps” that is an indication that you are not getting enough sleep at night. For children naps are good, but make sure they are spaced out and not to close to bed time.
6. Physical and psychological disorders. Frequent bedwetting or night terrors may be an indication of a greater problem. Seek help. Constant snoring. It may be Sleep Apnea. Seek Help. Many people have trouble with insomnia or hypersomnia. Too little sleep or too much sleep is a red flag. Seek help.
7. If your prescribed medication produces a soporific effect (i.e., drowsy). Seek medical advice before altering your medication.

Proper Sleep Hygiene:

1. Have a regular schedule to go to bed and wake up. This is especially important for children.
2. Make sure your bed is comfortable.
3. Use your bed only for sleeping. This will condition your body to know when it hits the bed, it is time to sleep. (This is for all of you who treat your bedroom like it is the living room). Do not go to bed with the TV on. It is better not have a TV in the room, especially for children.
4. Do not press the snooze. It is best not to even have an alarm. If we set a pattern our body will wake up naturally. But, if you need some help, set it at a time and get up when it goes off.
5. Exercise is important and increases your ability to sleep well; but, timing is everything. Do not exercise within 4 hours of your bedtime.
6. Have a ritua l before you go to bed to wind down. For example, take a hot bath about 1 hour before you go to bed. The decrease in body temperature will help facilitate sleep. Lavendar aromas are known to help create an environment that produces traquility. Eat something with tryptophan (i.e., turkey, warm milk). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryptophan . Meditate and pray to ease your mind of all of the stress from the past day. (I know I said this in point #1, that lets you know how important I think it is for us to know).

Bottom Line: Sleep is important. For more information on this topic visit this site: http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/gui de/sleep-disorders-overview-facts

The BLAQUESMITH