Blisstree » bed time

Night Owls Have Darker Outlook, Says Study

Peggy Rowland — Sat, 30 May 2009 05:48:05 +0000

People I work with can tell you: I’m a night owl. I’ve received a few chuckles at the time of day my e-mails are sent.

Is there anything wrong with staying up late and sleeping in a little?

I don’t think so, but a new study says that people who stay up late have a darker outlook than those who get up early in the morning.

The Brazilian study, lead by Dr. Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo, was published in Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.

According to the research, night owls were nearly three times as likely as early birds to experience symptoms of severe depression. People in the study described as night owls went to bed around midnight and rose on average about 40 minutes later than early birds.

Families Who Share Sleeping Space

kadi — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:46:51 +0000

Let’s talk about the idea of family bed sharing. Is it a means to forming strong family bonds or a way to ensure that kids will never sleep in their own beds without a struggle?

In our house, the rule of thumb is that once the kids are weaned to a bottle, they are expected to sleep in their own rooms. The parent’s bed is only for the parents. This, in part, is due to the fact that my husband has serious back problems and cannot bear to sleep in compromising positions. We also share the belief that our bed is the place where we can strengthen marital bonds (aka have sex) and should not have to move kids into their own beds, in the middle of the night, to do so. I could not imagine how non existent our sex life would be if we allowed our kids to make themselves at home in our bed.

It has been shown that kids who sleep in a family bed, have trouble self soothing. Newborns who share a bed with their parents, are at a greater risk of SIDS. Kids also experience a lack of REM sleep. The same can be said for their parents. Also, what happens when these kids get older and sleep over at a friend’s house? I’m pretty sure that the parents of Jr’s playmate, will not be too thrilled when they get a 3 o’clock visit from him, requesting to share the bed space. It just seems like the positive aspect of bonding is far outweighed by the negative aspects. Maybe the answer is to spend more day light hours bonding, in order to get some spousal bonding at night. Then again, some people do not mind the lack of alone time. It really is an individual preference matter. What are your thoughts on this subject?

Post from: Blisstree

Families Who Share Sleeping Space

Calming Fears, Or Feeding Bad Habits?

kadi — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:11:39 +0000

My kids have a clear cut bedtime routine. They know our expectations and rarely fight us on matters of sleeping arrangements. There is one thing, however, that I allow them to have a say in… the use of a night light. About half of my kids are afraid of the dark. I see no problem with allowing a night light in the room, as long as it is safe and doesn’t lead to messing around. My husband disagrees with me on this matter. He thinks that I am giving them the okay to have an irrational fear. He believes that the lights should be out completely and it is just too bad if they are scared.

The biggest factor in my decision to allow night lights, is my own childhood experiences. I also hated the dark. I still do. I used to hide my head under the blankets, because I was so afraid of seeing anything scary looking in my room. I fell asleep every night, with fear in my heart. It was an awful feeling. I do not want my kids to feel the same. I think that slumber should be a peaceful event, beginning with a feeling of security while they drift off.

Is my practice of turning on a night light and enabling my children to be dependent on a night light, going to have a negative effect on their adulthood? Do you allow your kids to use a night light or other comfort measure? Why or why not?

Post from: Blisstree

Calming Fears, Or Feeding Bad Habits?

Goodnight Without A Fight

kadi — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:01:03 +0000

There is an urban legend, ’round these parts, of a family whose children relish the nightly ritual that is their bedtime routine. When the clock strikes half past seven, they scamper to the restroom to commence with their nightly oral hygien routine.

After their teeth are squeaky clean, they scramble to pick out an outfit for the upcoming day. The children’s father usually helps them select one that fits and matches, which is no small feat! While they look, they talk about the day and their goals for the week.

After clothing is selected, reading time begins. Everyone grabs a book and heads to their favorite reading spot.

When the clock strikes eight, the children scurry to their beds for a song, a prayer and a kiss goodnight.

Once in awhile, the smallest of the bunch, tries to pull some bedtime shenanigans. It never lasts long, though! He looks forward to his song and knows that his mama will not sing unless he is in his bed.

At eight fifteen, every night, the lights go out and the children drift off to sleep with narry a peep. Sound like a fairy tale? It isn’t. It is the fruit of many years of bed time training and working to establish a bed time ritual that the kids look forward to. There have been nights that seemed like the kids would never get to sleep. There are sick nights, when nobody gets a wink. There are nightmares that result in a master bedroom full of Prescotts. On the whole, however, our night time routine is just about the only thing that goes off without a hitch, in this house. It is what allows Daniel and I to spend time alone. It is also one of the reasons that I have time to do all of the writing that I enjoy so much. We may not do a lot of things exceedingly well, but bedtime is one aspect of our parenting that I am extremely proud of! What is a parenting practice that you are proud of?

Post from: Blisstree

Goodnight Without A Fight