Day 53: Early To Bed, Early To Rise…

How does that saying go? “…makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise?” I’ll settle for just healthy. And awake. I am one tired mama.

I realize what is causing this tiredness. I have been going to bed around 11pm and rising at 5am. Six hours of sleep. SIX. That is not nearly enough!! There was a time not so long ago when I managed to get to bed around 9pm in order to wake up at 5:45. It was heavenly. I felt so rested and relaxed when I got up, and I didn’t have to fight getting out of bed. (Although, this was back in the day of the snooze button, and don’t think for a minute that I didn’t use it anyway!)

Oh, how I would love to get to bed at 9:00 every night. Eight solid hours of sleep. Who could ask for more?

Now, I must say that the kids need way more than I do, and we make sure that they get to bed on time during the school year, which is fast approaching. This is the first summer where we were not strict about getting them to bed at any certain time. But, with a 30 minute drive ahead of us on summer mornings in order to get to Grandmama’s house, there was no sleeping in, either. Let me tell you…EVERYONE can tell when my kids have not had enough sleep. THAT’S WHEN THEY ACT LIKE SPAWN OF SATAN!!!!

“Aaron LOOKED at me!”

“Victoria HIT me!”

“Because he LOOKED at me!”

OMG, people, REALLY?????

Yes, starting this past week, we have reinstated the strict 8:00 bedtime to get them back on track for school. And I can’t talk about their bedtime without throwing this in: children who get more than 8 hours of sleep a night (mine get 10) are – statistically speaking – healthier. I have seen it in practice. The school-age children I know who do not have bedtimes have more random illnesses, always seeming to be fighting this cold or that. Worse, some have chronic health issues that I believe are compounded by their bodies not getting enough rest. My munchkins typically battle one modest bug a year.

As for me, I need a strict bedtime. And not just to stay healthy – to stay SANE. I do feel a little like I have over-scheduled my healthy living to the point that it keeps me busy until 11pm. So, I will need to tweak the schedule in order to get more sleep. I can’t have all my desire for positive change actually doing me harm in the end, now can I?