Why is sleep so important? Here are my top 10 reasons to help your family get the rest that you all deserve:
1. Happier children - A well-rested child is a happier child. So so many parents tell me that they thought they had a “difficult child” until they got adequate rest. The root cause of many “behavioural issues” is actually sleep deprivation. In some cases, sleep deprivation in children can even be misdiagnosed as ADHD. Poor understanding, problem solving, frustration and lack of interest in anything are all common symptoms of inadequate sleep in children.
2. More refreshed and well-rested parents – By helping yourself get enough sleep you will be improving your ability to be the parent you want to be and will therefore help your whole family. Dad won’t get his head bitten off, kids won’t get screamed at – Peace will be restored. A better relationship between parents. Many families tell me that prior to working on their child's sleep their marriage was being affected.
3. Health and Immunity – Sleep is as essential as breathing. If the whole family is suffering from lack of sleep, chances are you are prone to getting every bug that’s making the rounds. Adequate sleep helps the immune system function as it should. During sleep white blood cells are produced, these are an essential part of a healthy immune system. Lack of sleep can lead to abnormal hormone function, which can predispose your child to certain medical complaints in later life such as diabetes and obesity.
4. Growth - Muscle development and cell renewal occurs during sleep. Sleep boosts the hormone needed for growth. If sleep is fragmented normal muscle growth can’t occur and cells and tissues can’t repair as they should.
5. Safety – Studies have shown that driving whist sleep deprived is no different than driving while intoxicated. Judgement is impaired not only for you but for your baby or child too. Notice how your little one gets so much more clumsy when tired? More sleep may help you avoid a nasty trip to the hospital!
6. Memory – Finding it difficult to carry out daily tasks at work? Feel like you have 'baby brain'? You are probably just tired! While we sleep our brains store important information and discard irrelevant information. This is even more important for kids who actually need to cycle through all stages of sleep in order to retain information necessary for building short term memory and cognitive development.
7. Easing Separation Anxiety – Is your child always clingy during the day, won’t let you put them down on the floor and start crying as soon as you walk a metre away from them? Well rested children cope better in ALL situations than those that are sleep deprived, including periods of separation.
8. Language and motor development – So so so many of my clients notice that once they get their baby or toddler sleeping they start talking and laughing more or suddenly reach those major milestones such as crawling or walking.
9. Better eating habits and improved appetite – Babies that are tired do not eat well! I have had clients struggle to help bub gain weight, until we give them a more intuitive and natural feeding and sleeping schedule which go hand-in-hand together. THEN they start gaining weight, and eating more and having more energy throughout the day.
10. More confident parenting – When both you and your child are well rested, you can think clearly and are confident in the choices you make for your baby, you are not always second guessing yourself and parenting is SO much more enjoyable with SLEEP!