Introduction “Welcome to Stacked Intent, where we discuss and drop tips on how you are going to intentionally stack your life. I’m Becca Stackhouse-Morson – owner of Stacked Intent. Today, we’ll be talking about Why Sleep Routines Matter for YOU. Let’s get started!”
Brief Summary of objectives (3):
- Why have a sleep routine
- Ways to create a sleep routine
- Creating your sleep environment
Where do you learn your sleep patterns? This is often something we learn as children and they are our behaviors that repeat with us for years to come. Though insomnia can be a difficulty of falling asleep or staying asleep, you might be able to take some lifestyle changes to help improve your habits.
Topic 1: Why have a sleep routine
- Sleep needs a routine and consistency because that is the key to keeping it on track. This provides you and your children with a structure and routine to establish a safety and comfort.
- There are plenty of benefits to getting sleep habits being healthy –
- You can see an increase in overall mood and behaviors.
- In children it can help decrease meltdowns or tantrums that occur.
- Helps strengthen your immune system because your body has time to heal and regenerate.
- A well-rested mind gives for better cognitive abilities in all of us.
- Just like we have talked about in our nutrition, you want to have a healthy sleep pattern 80/20… 20% of the time you can make exceptions to your sleep schedule. You are able to use this rule after you have a structured and set bedtime routine.
- When you are using the 80/20 make sure you start with a well rested you and children because a well-rested child is going to handle changes a lot better. If a child has had a fun filled day offer them an earlier bedtime.
- Hustle and bustle of the holiday season is right around the corner, but that doesn’t mean your sleep patterns should suffer. Meeting your sleep needs is an important part of keeping a healthy you in your sleep routines. Keep to your bedtime and practice the 20% of the time for late nights.
- Everyone in your family needs a bedtime set from the children to the parents! It helps to encourage a regular sleep schedule.
- With children, you want to start a soothing routine before they are overtired and fighting to get to their second wind. Each of these routines is as unique as each of us are. The routine for your children should be the same at bedtime as nap time so they know what to expect.
Topic 2: Ways to Create a Sleep Routine
Wake up at the same time each day.
Going to bed at the same time each night, but not more than eight hours before you want to be up .
As an adult 8 hours in a 24-hour period, but children and teenagers need more sleep than that. Sleep routines are important so we have the correct hours of functioning sleep for ourselves and for the little humans we are caring for.
- Newborns (0-3 months) 14 – 17 hours
- Infants (4 – 11 months) 12 – 15 hours
- Toddler ( 1 -2 year) 11 – 14 hours
- Preschool ( 3 -5 years) 10 – 13 hours
- School Age (6-13 years) 9 – 11 hours
- Teens (14 -17 years) 8 – 10 hours
Our feeling of rest comes from the quality of sleep we get.
Going to bed and waking up in routine even goes for the weekends.
In the evenings you really want to avoid caffeine and alcohol consumption.
Avoid eating heavy meals more than 2 hours before you go to sleep.
Empty your day into a journal. If you have worries or thoughts transfer them to a journal and help leave your thoughts for you to peacefully go to sleep.
Are you active? If you are not active then if you add at least 30 minutes of exercise (walking, running, weights, etc..) most days it will help provide you with a better night’s rest.
Leaving the naps behind… if you are trying to get a nightly routine to sleep well at night you might want to cut the naps out during the daytime.
Check on your medicines, herbs, or supplements with your health care provider to see if they have side effects on your sleep.
How are you managing your stress? Find ways for relaxation techniques and learn to listen to your body and slow down or take breaks as it is needed.
Read or take baths to create a relaxing zone and clear your worrisome mind.
Put away the screens – stop watching tv, get off the computer, and off your phones one to two hours before you are ready to go to bed.
Instead of the screen create 20 – 30 minutes for your child to relax and settle into a quiet space. Save the dance party for your morning routine.
Read a bedtime story and create this as a bonding time to do with your child.
If after 30 minutes you haven’t fallen asleep, then get up and move to another room, but only do a quiet activity to lead you to feel sleepy.
Why address electronics? They need to have a curfew of what time in the evening you will be shutting off all TVs, phones, and computers. It is usually recommended that this happens one to two hours before bedtime. It needs to be off and out of the bed! One way to make this a family event is creating a family docking station in a main room of your house where all electronics can be kept outside of the bedrooms.
Create a child(ren) soothing routine… here are a few examples:
- Bath time (to get rid of the day’s germs and give your body a relaxation)
- Brushing teeth
- Potty time or changing a diaper
- White noise and diffuser started
- Put on pajamas
- Do a short yoga routine
- Read a story
- Add a relaxing song
Topic 3: Create your sleeping spaces
Creating a healthy sleep environment
Keep noises in your room low
Keep the room dark and cool. The darkness in a room supports your natural melatonin and triggers your mind and body to sleep.
If you need a night light, choose one that’s 4-7 watts and a yellow, red, or amber color to help not interfere with your melatonin production
Did you know that is ideal to sleep in a 68 – 72* F room
You can have a white noise.
Remove TVs and computers from your bedroom. This means when you are putting your child(ren) to bed, leave your cell phone in the other room to start your routine for bed. This also eliminates the disruptions or stimulation during your bonding time and story time.
Pets are usually best in their crates or in another room.
During the holidays you might need to take your environment with you such as a noise machine, favorite bedtime stories, eye mask, diffusers, pillow, or a specific blanket.
- Enjoy a calming activity
- Read the book that helps your mind relax.
- Listen to calming music.
- Do a soothing yoga or stretching.
- Create a breathing pattern for relaxation.
As you travel through time zones you have to create your sleep spaces there:
- Exposure to light as close to the morning as possible.
- If you can, shift your eating schedule for your destination.
- Jet lag is going to hit you on one end of your trip, so be prepared.
- Your body will naturally adjust, so be patient with it.
Challenge: Do you have a bedtime routine? Make sure it has a shower, pajamas, and brushing your teeth. Be sure to avoid an afternoon nap so you are ready for sleep.
Personally I use Young Living Diffusers. I actually have one in each room of our house. In the bedroom we have snowy the owl (sprout the Puppy™ Diffuser) is my favorite for the bedroom and the one I travel with. You can grab one here! Plus we use Stress Away in our nightly routine!
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