Getting Enough Sleep Should Be a Priority

by Kristyn Crow | More from this Blogger

13 Aug 2007 08:34 PM

Meeting the needs of children with medical problems or behavioral disorders can be exhausting. A child who must be checked and re-checked throughout the night, or one with sleep disturbances or night terrors can leave parents frustrated and overwhelmed. And if we're not careful, we can become accustomed to getting very little rest and almost forget what a real night of recuperative sleep feels like.

When we're sleep-deprived, we're more likely to feel like we're incapable of handling everything we have to accomplish in a day. Problems seem so much bigger. We're irritable without knowing exactly why. Sometimes sleep-deprivation makes us weepy, or cross and impatient. Sleep-deprivation can also trigger depression, anxiety, and stress-related illness. We might start to assume it's the child's medical problem that has caused this change in our personality, when in reality we are just plain exhausted.

Sleep is the restorative process that prepares the body for another day. According to Stanford University, sleep-deprivation is one of our nation's most serious, yet ignored, problems. For example, a sleepy driver is often just as dangerous on the road as a driver who is intoxicated. And sleep apnea is said to affect more than 30 million Americans. There's no doubt that we need sleep, and we especially need sleep when we have been given a special child to parent. As close to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep as possible should be the goal.

Barbara Gill, in her book, Changed by a Child, tells us, "Our first priority must be sleep. If we have enough rest, then everything else will follow." Making sleep a priority means doing whatever it takes-including asking for help from friends or family. See it not as weakness or self-indulgence, but a necessary step in your parenting protocol. Your child deserves a well-rested parent who has the strength and wherewithal to face each new day.

Kristyn Crow is the author of this blog. Visit her website by clicking here. Some links on this blog may have been generated by outside sources are not necessarily endorsed by Kristyn Crow.

Learn more about Kristyn Crow

Kristyn Crow is the mother of seven children, and the author of three children's books. Visit her website at www.kristyncrow.com.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger