Let's face it, the days are a little bit easier when you get the kids to bed earlier rather than later and have a little bit of time to finish everything else you have going on.
The problem is that bedtime can be hard! Babies napped too long and aren't quite ready for sleep, toddlers want to hang out with mom and dad, and the older kids get the more they want to stay up at a night rather than go to sleep.
Buuut it looks like you have yet another reason to get the kids to bed early: it's better for your health.
A recent study says that the earlier the kids go to bed, the healthier mom will be.
And it's not only at the benefit of mom, kids who do not get enough sleep have a hard time regulating their emotions, use bad judgement, experience appetite changes, and may perform worse in school.
For the record, kids aged 1-2 need no less than 9 hours of sleep in a night, while preschoolers and elementary-aged kids need no less than eight and seven hours per night, respectively.
And when the kids are happy and well-rested, that usually translates to mom having better physical and mental health overall when the kids are sleeping their suggested hours.
So how can we assure that the kids go to bed when needed and we get the sleep we need?! There are a few tricks.
One major one is finding a bedtime routine and sticking to it. Kids thrive on structure and knowing what the expect at bedtime - be that time, the routine before bed, etc.
For parents, it is recommended that screens are shut off 2 hours before bed for both parents and kids because of the research that suggests light from screens can interfere with melatonin production, which is an important part of the sleep cycle.
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