it's 10 pm...

Do you know where your bed is? Most nights I try to get into bed by 10 pm. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean a good night’s sleep. OI late my sleep has been so-so. At one point last year I used the National Sleep Foundation sleep diary to track my zzz’s, The basic idea is to rate your sleep. Once you have done this to think about what you did just before bed, your dreams, and/or if you woke in the night.

See sleep is important at any age. When my daughter was little I knew when she was having a growth spurt because she slept a lot and ate me out of house and home. To this day she is still a big eater (and has been since she was in my tummy). Last week she was out almost every night and then slept 7=until noon on Sunday. We need our sleep and we get less than our bodies needs we try to make up for it. This is why we have naps.

I can remember in kindergarten having nap time. I brought in either my yellow blanket (made by my maternal grandmother from fabric from the family textile business) or a large pink towel. I can picture laying out on the towel, closing my else, and getting some rest. And yet by first-grade naps are gone. And in my house, I was told that if you nap, you won’t sleep well at night. Bubkis if you ask me! Naps are necessary for some people to get through the day. This is why some companies (pre-pandemic) had nap rooms where employees could go and catch some zzz’s to restore and recharge.

Remember infants take 3 naps a day and toddlers need 1-2 per day. Teenagers need one nap if they stayed up late talking with friends to the wee hours of the morning. In this case, I will gently remind my daughter to not stay up so late and get more beauty sleep. What teenage girl doesn’t want beauty sleep?!

(P.S. My trick is to read before bed to slow down my mind and body. This usually helps me fall asleep after, but doesn’t always guarantee a restful night.)