Helping out at your child's class field trip is such a fun and special experience for the both of you. If you are able to sign up for one, I recommend you do, as it's a great way to connect with your little one while getting to know their teachers and friends. I was a field trip newbie last year. It was my first time helping out with my daughter's class and I quickly realized that there were some must-haves and do’s and don'ts that I had never thought of for the big day.
When I first attended Blissdom, I was not a blogger. I was a small business owner and my specialty was sleep. I had a blog that I managed from time to time, and I knew the importance of providing my readers and clients with sleep information - but I wasn’t a writer - I was a sleep educator and my blog was definitely lacking in some blogging love. I wrestled with the idea of going to Blissdom wondering if it would really be worthwhile for me?
While the summer brings us endless days and fun family trips with sun, surf, and sand, it also can take away your family’s usual sleep routine. For two months, bedtimes are pushed out later, and morning lay-ins are the norm. It’s not surprising that when kids head back to school, they struggle to get back into their routine—and everyone feels it.
When a new way to help your child fall asleep is announced in the media, the parenting world holds on for dear life and every sleep-deprived, caffeine fueled parent runs to the quickest store, and in this case the bookstore, in hopes that this is going to be the solution to the constant bedtime battles in their home. As a sleep professional, when new sleep aid products hit the market I feel it’s my job to check them out and research them as time and time again parents come to me in need of help after spending money on these aids that offer false hope and zero sleep.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but conversations around the water cooler are now more about how one slept the night before instead of being about the latest television show or office gossip, With the popularity of sleep trackers on the rise, everyone is suddenly interested in the quantity and quality of their sleep. Products like Fitbit, Jawbone, and Nike Fuel are being found in households everywhere, with tracking sleep patterns as one of their top features. As a sleep expert, this growing trend is something I felt I had to research.
Sleepwalking is a common form of parasomnia (a category of sleep disorders that involve abnormal behaviours during sleep) affecting both children and adults. It occurs when the affected person arises out of the slow-wave sleep cycle and performs actions commonly associated with being awake, without fully regaining consciousness. While the most obvious symptom is walking around while still sleeping, there are many actions that can take place while the person is unaware of committing them.
Recently I took an overnight flight to Sweden, essentially losing almost an entire day to travel and running for connecting flights. Taking a red-eye flight means a night of poor sleep with the expectation to hit the ground running with work functions and touring the next day. It's important that at some point you get some sleep in, somewhere, somehow.
Signing up your child for their first week of sleep away camp is a big decision. Perhaps you went as a kid and want your own child to experience the same fun or maybe this is a new adventure for the both of you. While summer camp is a wonderful opportunity for your child to thrive and have fun it’s important to make sure that before signing them up your child is “sleep” ready to attend.
It can be frustrating to working parents to hear sleep educators like myself tell you to put your child to bed earlier to promote better sleep. Here I am telling you to put your child to bed at the same time you are getting home from work and daycare pick up, and the task can be an impossible feat. But before you start cursing me out, let me share with you some realistic sleep tips you can apply to working families so that everyone can get to sleep a little easier at night.
Situation: You have a beautiful baby. You're 15 or so weeks in to your parenting career and all told, things are going well...well, except maybe for the sleep part which this baby now feels is "optional."
A recent study was published and proved that practicing a consistent bedtime routine with children 0-5 years of age resulted in better over all sleep for the child. The study showed us that when children had a regular bedtime routine of at least 3 times a week, the child went to bed earlier, fell asleep easier and faster, had up to one more hour of sleep throughout the night with less frequent night wakings.
A consistent bedtime routine meant better sleep for all.
On Mother's Day we get to focus on us. We spend our days and nights with our children, our work, and our partners at the top of the list. But one day of the year we get to choose us and what better time to spoil yourself a bit then at bedtime when the house is quiet and everyone is sound asleep. These bedtime beauty tricks will complete the perfect Mother's Day for you.
It’s the time of year where we de-clutter, clean, and purge all that’s accumulated throughout the winter.
Have you thought about also giving your sleep a Spring clean? Sometimes our sleep routine and environment needs a little sprucing up too, so while you’re windexing the windows, give thought to what needs to be done in the bedroom.
It’s no surprise that a toddler or child who is not sleeping enough - or well - is not the most pleasant person to be around the next day. I know what I’m like when I haven’t had the best night of sleep. Now imagine your child continuing these poor sleep habits throughout the years. A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics states that toddlers struggling with sleep could display later emotional and behavioral issues as they get older.
A recent article in The New York Times titled “Sleep Training at 8 Weeks: ‘Do You Have the Guts?” spoke of a large New York City pediatric practice encouraging parents of a two month-old to start sleep training and to cut all feeds and sleep train using CIO (extinction) from 7pm to 7am.
Of course my inbox filled with the following question “When can I start sleep training?”
We spend one third of our lives sleeping, yet many of us take the need to sleep for granted- and in today’s 24/7 society, that means we are becoming a chronically sleep deprived one.
So how much sleep do we need?
For a typical healthy adult you need at least 7 to 9 hours of consolidated sleep. When we are frequently getting less than that we are more prone to future health problems and a shorter life expectancy.
Is how we live the only contributing factor in our accumulating sleep debt? Why is today’s society such a chronically overtired one?
