Are you ready to for better sleep habits in 2016?
Resolution, intention, objective, declaration, purpose…whatever your umbrella word is, it is the foundation of creating better habits on which follow a happier life for you and your family.
We don’t want the means to eclipse the ends!
What’s the point of taking the step towards a better habit if you have to hold your nose to do it?
Sleepytime Club posted about setting intentions at the new moon days here. The first new moon of the New Year falls January 9th. If real life got in the way of you sitting down and contemplating your 2016 objectives towards setting better habits, you have opportunities for better habits every 28 days throughout the year.
Isn’t that a big relief?
Actor Miles Brown has become the spokesperson for Sleep Number mattresses, using #committosleep to increase parental awareness of the importance of sleep and that we are in the midst of a national sleep debt.
Now granted, these PSAs are designed to sell mattresses as well as raise awareness, but Sleep Number is on to something very real and important: sleep deprivation is an international crisis affecting our health, safety, and relationships.
Brown uses the term “slangry” a hybrid of “sleepy” and “angry” – not a far reach from “hangry”, an amalgam of “hungry” and “angry”. These connections between our biological selves and our emotional selves are important to remember when we’re parenting or dealing with any relationship: before thinking you need to call someone out on their behavior, check in to see if they’ve eaten, gotten enough sleep, or might just be coming down with a cold.
All these biological factors tie in with building better habits:
Keep your physical self in balance and the rest will follow. Prioritize sleep and you will see how everything else in your life and your family life fall into place.
Step #1 to Build Better Family Sleep Habits:
Boost a habit already in your day.
This is indeed simplicity! You already have a bedtime routine, make it one that works for you. So how do you boost your bedtime routine?
First, download Sleepytime Club’s free Bedtime Blueprint so your days are set up for peaceful nights. You’ll see how it all falls into place with this tool.
Second, start your bedtime routine at the same time every night. Again, use the Bedtime Blueprint and guidelines from the National Sleep Foundation to determine what time family members need to go to sleep.
Third, use the same sequence of events every…single…night. For example: bath, brush, quiet time, tuck-in time with caregivers. This is a routine that can go on vacation or on family overnights.
What Sleepytime Club offers is a routine within a routine – with 5 steps that nurture:
- Family Relationships
- Learning to Sleep
- Language and Literacy
- Social Cognition
- Creativity
- Respect for Emotions and Mindfulness
You can see what it’s all about on Sleepytime Club’s Home page.
At Sleepytime Club we applaud Sleep Number mattresses for drawing attention to the sleep deprivation crisis! We also rave about the work done by charities such as Houston Children’s Charities “A Better Night’s Sleep” which provides bedding and beds to children in need.
The sleep deprivation crisis is real and connects us all. We can keep our own physical selves in balance but unless we care for those around us – seeing sleep as much as a human right as water and health care – the world itself will be out of balance.
Let’s add to our New Year’s intentions that we increase our circle of awareness beyond our families.