Yes, babies need to sleep. But so do we.
Generation Sleepless (Penguin RandomHouse 2022).
We are so diligent about our babies’ and little kids’ sleep. But what about our own?
We see this a lot in the families we work with — people prioritize their young children’s sleep, but generally speaking, as we get older, the same care goes out the window. Research paints a clear picture of this:
Roughly 70 percent of elementary kids get sufficient sleep.
Less than 15 percent of high school students get sufficient sleep. This is one of the main contributors to rising mental health issues.
Almost half of adults are sleep deprived and many are trying to get by on 5-6 hours, when research shows this has serious mental and physical health consequences.
We stop taking care of sleep, in part, because we don’t realize how critical it still is. We all appreciate how important sleep is to growing brains and bodies; no one would question that babies need a lot of sleep, or that a toddler needs a nap, or that a child needs an early bedtime. But sleep is just as pivotal to teens, who are experiencing the most transformational brain growth of their lives—on par with the 0-3 years. Just like when they were toddlers, that level of change comes with a high need for sleep. Instead, they are the most sleep deprived generation in history.
Teens who don’t learn to take care of their sleep, very often turn into adults who also don’t take care of their sleep, and that is revealed in public health data. In the 1940’s, adults slept an average of almost 8 hours a night and now it’s 6.5. That missing hour and a half has contributed to higher incidence of cardiovascular issues, obesity, depression, car crashes and more.
From The Happy Sleeper (Penguin RandomHouse).
So, while we’re busy tracking our baby’s sleep and crafting thoughtful bedtime routines for our kids, we adults need to remember that sleeping 7-8 hours a night is one of the most impactful habits we can practice. It protects us from cognitive decline and memory loss, it is preventative against heart disease and diabetes, it helps us achieve a healthy weight, it lowers our stress levels and clears the brain of toxins. We immediately feel more alert, focused, energized and positive. We have more endurance and face life's obstacles with more equanimity and better problem solving skills. Our relationships improve and we communicate more constructively in difficult moments.
Insufficient sleep for parents is common but very fixable. Adults can improve their sleep through the 5 Habits of Happy Sleepers - laid out in Generation Sleepless - which is our toolkit for improving sleep from teenagehood through adulthood. One takeaway for tonight is to understand that when it comes to sleep, regularity is as important as duration. Research indicates that people who keep regular sleep and wake times reap more benefits from sleep than people who bounce around and randomly sleep 6 hours one night and 9 hours the next. That’s because the brain clock tracks the timing of our behaviors (including sleep) and tries to anticipate this timing for the next day. Regularity strengthens the release of melatonin and the depth of sleep, and irregularity confuses and dilutes these factors.
For the next two weeks, set a regular, reasonable bedtime for yourself, and set an alert on your phone one hour before your bedtime. At first this new ritual will feel alien to you, but if you stick to it for two weeks, not only will it start to feel like your new norm, that’s how long it takes to retrain your internal clock. Be patient and kind to yourself and create a routine that you enjoy and look forward to!
Work for a company whose employees need more sleep? (That’s most of them). We do Sleep Workshops for organizations. Contact us to learn more.