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With daylight savings time and summer, it's hard to get the Little Mother (and therefore myself) down to sleep at a decent time. I so much prefer "early to bed, early to rise", but my hubby's habits are the opposite. At least right now, because there's so much light in the evening and he can get things done. And the kids want to play with him in the evening after he comes indoors. So we have this problem of not getting to bed until 10 or later, which is bad for me and my body rhythms.
Last night, I suggested putting LM to bed earlier and letting her read in bed if she's not quite tired yet, due to the light outside (it doesn't get dark until 9 or later!). And he thought that was a bad idea; he'd heard that reading in bed is detrimental to sleeping. Well, LM sleeps so soundly she still needs pull ups at night, so I don't think that will be a problem. And hubby, after all, often plays computer games or watches tv before bed, which I KNOW is bad for good sleep.
So, Hatrackers, weigh in. Especially with links or proof to back up your bed habits.
Posts: 3141 | Registered: Apr 2000
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The only reason reading in bed would be detrimental to sleeping is when you're reading a really good book and don't turn out the light until 2 or 3 in the morning. I'm sure we've all done that!
Otherwise, reading in bed=good.
Reading in general is good.
Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Reading gets my mind churning and can make it hard to sleep. This was particularly bad in High School when I read a LOT.
It's funny you say 10 is late... I try to get to bed by 10, but my hubby likes to stay up till after midnight or 1. Sometimes much later on weekends.
But I agree with early to bed and early to rise. And I agree with keeping bedtimes and waking times consistant. These will go a long way toward battling insomnia and depression. (at least in my experience.)
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I need at least 9 hours of sleep to be at my optimal functioning. Hubby seems to need much less. I also have to take into consideration nursing Crow.
Posts: 3141 | Registered: Apr 2000
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But isn't it good to snuggle with your husband before falling asleep? I miss that when Hubby is in one of his "I'll finish that before I sleep" moods.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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You just have to make the best of the situation. When my hubby is still awake when I go to sleep (sometimes all night long!), I enjoy the roominess of the bed. When he's with me, I enjoy the snuggles.
What's bad is when I want one but get the other! Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I never do that because I can be sure he'll wake me up to ask me to make more room for him whenever he decides it's time to sleep. Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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I almost always read in bed, and have since I learned to read. The only time it's caused trouble is when reading something really, really exciting I might not put it down even if I really am sleepy. Most nights I need to lay down for a little bit before my body relaxes enough to sleep, and I read to keep myself from getting too bored in the meantime.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I think that the reasoning behind it being bad to read in bed is that many think that if you use the bed for things other than sleeping, you stop seeing bed as a sleeping place, making it harder to sleep.
Personally, when I was little, I would always read before bed, and it helped me sleep a lot better because I pretty much daydream myself to sleep (even now). So reading would rev up my imagination and make it much easier to drift off.
Although I don't remember reading anything saying that reading in bed will result in a poor night's sleep, periodically there are articles that state that if you are having trouble getting to sleep, stop reading in bed. They suggest that to get the best, most relaxing sleep, a bed only be used for 2 things: sleep and sex. TV, eating, reading, laptops, work, etc should not be done in bed.
IMO, it's good to set good habits young. On the other hand, I've read in bed my entire life growing up, my wife and I still do occasionally, and we have no problems sleeping.
Posts: 1412 | Registered: Oct 2005
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That's not enough to wake me up.. what wakes me up is the TV! An eyemask and earplugs really saved my sanity. Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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I'm sorta like dkw on this one. If I am reading something exciting I can't get to sleep that well. Sometimes I might not sleep at all. However, I haven't read in bed in a while.
I like to snuggle with fiance, but as hot as it is getting (no air conditioning in my place) there is no more snuggling. She wakes up the next morning saying she felt like she was sleeping alone. I sit there doing the hands up and say that it wasn't my fault. I went to snuggle and she pushed me away. At least now that it is really warm out she doesn't steal all the covers anymore.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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See Jenny, everything can be blaimed on our lovely governor. I know a family in the Indy area who actually likes daylight savings though because they have two todlers who actually will go to bed at 7:30, so mom and dad can get lots of stuff down in the yard before dark.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I insist on cuddling at all times. I'm so adament about it that if I wake up in the middle of the night and he's rolled over, I wake him up. Well, except I've realized that a lot of times, he's not really awake and doesn't remember me telling him about my nightmares in the morning.
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for ME personally I frequently read books, and occasionally watch TV while I am in bed. Often while reading books Ill just get drowsy and have trouble reading, so I just turn off the lamp and sleep. Occasionally the book is really exciting and I don't get sleepy, in those cases I look at the time and just put the book down and go to sleep. I guess I am just lucky in that most of the time when I close my eyes to sleep I am out within 30 seconds - 2 minutes.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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What time does everyone get up in the morning?
Also, do y'all homeschool? I would never recommend such a late bedtime for a child in public or private school and I would caution against changing your routine for the summer - it's very hard to go back to something workable in the fall.
From what I've found - reading in bed is not recommended for good sleep. Though most of the material seems to be referring to adults, it all recommends using the bed solely for sleep (and sex, but that doesn't apply to LM). I don't see the harm in it, personally.
Aerin is on a pretty good sleep schedule that works for our family - asleep for the night by 9:00 pm and 2 naps during the day. I am working on getting her to bed earlier - my goal is to have her asleep by 7:30 pm and keep that up through 3rd or 4th grade. She's slept through the night since she was 2 months old adjusted, which is great for me because she's a VERY demanding baby when she's awake. Good sleep is especially important for a preemie and Andrew and I get some alone time.
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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quote:Originally posted by pH: I insist on cuddling at all times. I'm so adament about it that if I wake up in the middle of the night and he's rolled over, I wake him up.
This would drive me crazy! I definitely need a mix of cuddles and being able to move about freely. And if I've picked a position, I'd be quite grumpy about changing it upon request mid-sleep. And if I am woken up, many times further sleep is very difficult. But that's just me. Posts: 2880 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Heh. It's once in a blue moon that Ems goes to sleep before 9. And more often, it's much closer to 10:30.
She's always been like me; wants to sleep the morning away and stay up all night.
Bridey, on the other hand, falls asleep with the sun-- and wakes with it, usually. Rather like her father. Ick.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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On a typical night, my wife and I will try to go to bed between 10 and 11, and I'll occasionally read until midnight unless we find <ahem> other things to do. I'm always up at 12:00(when I have to give a medication to my youngest daughter) then I sleep for 5 1/2 to 6 hours and then get up at 6:00 A.M. (to give another medication).
Posts: 1480 | Registered: Dec 2004
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I have always told my kids to read in bed before going to sleep. If there's anything detrimental about it, it hasn't seemed that way to us. I can't fall asleep without reading, frankly, even if it's only a page. Lately, with the extreme fatigue due to chemo, I get in bed, start to read and turn off the light after less than five minutes.
As for times - all the kids go to bed at nine. Natalie complains that she should be able to stay up later because she's so much older but I just remind her that teens need more sleep. Nine seems to work for us - they get up at six during the school year and maybe 7 in the summertime. We are a bit decadent when there's no school and sleep an hour late.
Edit: one day I'll learn to type. It might even be soon.
[ June 01, 2006, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote:Originally posted by pH: I insist on cuddling at all times. I'm so adament about it that if I wake up in the middle of the night and he's rolled over, I wake him up.
This would drive me crazy! I definitely need a mix of cuddles and being able to move about freely. And if I've picked a position, I'd be quite grumpy about changing it upon request mid-sleep. And if I am woken up, many times further sleep is very difficult. But that's just me.
I like to move around freely...and DO move around freely...when I'm sleeping alone, which is most of the time. Actually, I end up all tangled up in blankets.
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Jenny, I put blackout shades in all the bedrooms, which has helped a lot with getting Rainbow (4) down at a reasonable hour.
I don't require that she go to sleep, but I do insist she stay in bed with the light out. She can take as many toys to bed with her as she likes. And if she's grumpy in the evening, she may find herself in bed sooner than the usual appointed hour.
Nine is bedtime. When Christian (13) complains about this, I remind him that bedtime is not for his convenience, but mine. It's the only time Ross and I have alone. He can stay up as long as he likes as long as he's quiet and gets the sleep he needs. If he starts getting zombie-like, he knows I'll start regulating when he has to be in bed. So he manages it pretty well himself.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by jeniwren: Nine is bedtime. When Christian (13) complains about this, I remind him that bedtime is not for his convenience, but mine.
I never would've fared well with that when I was that age on after to 18. My mother tried a curfew once. It lasted a day. The problem they had was that they knew everyone I was hanging out with, and they had nothing against them. I would come home quietly and go to bed.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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We do what jeniwren does but our time is 8 until they are 10 then it bumps to 9 which is where it will stay except on special occasions (slumber parties, out of town company is here with children, etc...)
We haven't decided how long that will last but hopefully by 14 they will be self governing in that area/will have the same natural consequences as I do in the sleep department.
Posts: 697 | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:I think that the reasoning behind it being bad to read in bed is that many think that if you use the bed for things other than sleeping, you stop seeing bed as a sleeping place, making it harder to sleep.
All this stuff about reading in bed being bad for sleep does not apply in my house. We all read in bed as a part of the daily routine. I didn't used to think I could sleep without reading but it turns out I can. Either way though, it's never been a problem and I owe my super-reading skills to reading extensively in bed.
In fact, often during the day if I'm reading on my bed I'll fall asleep. Bed is as associated with sleep, not with reading, heh heh. Also, the bed is the only place to read in my room, so it's that or the floor.
I generally need 9-10 hours of sleep a night if I want to be particularly perky the next day, but 7-8 is generally just fine. I can sleep up to 12-13 hours if I'm very tired. I've always been a very sleepy person, though- sleep has rarely been a problem for me.
Bedtime is generally 11:00-12:30 when I'm not working. I like to be the last one up because it gives the illusion of being alone in the house, something that, when I'm at home, is very rare and treasured.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:I think that the reasoning behind it being bad to read in bed is that many think that if you use the bed for things other than sleeping, you stop seeing bed as a sleeping place, making it harder to sleep.
So if we follow that argument, we shouldn't have sex in bed either? Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Nope. Kitchen counter only. No exceptions. Heh...
My problem with reading in bed is I only bring a book to bed when it's really really interesting. Which means I'm up til 6 a.m.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Katarain: That's not enough to wake me up.. what wakes me up is the TV! An eyemask and earplugs really saved my sanity.
My fiancee absolutely has to fall asleep with the TV on. It used to drive me insane, and it took forever to get used to it. Then just a couple of weeks ago I went to bed late. Ericka was already asleep, and the timer had already turned the TV off. After laying in bed for an hour and a half I realized that I too relied on the TV to fall asleep.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Yeah, by the time I was in HS, I never went to sleep before 12, no matter how early I had to get up...
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Hnn. If I want to read in bed I'll read in bed, usually most of Saturday and Sunday. But, I am a nocturnal creature that has to be forced into a diurnal lifestyle. It's pure torture. I'm wide awake at 11 pm, and 11 am at work I am slumped at my desk in a deep sleep and again at 2 or 3 pm. I can't help it. On the weekend I can stay up until two o clock, sometimes even longer. Then I wake up at 6, go to bed, wake up again at 7, go back to bed some time later and sleep until 10 because Bernie's banging his bowls against each other wanting to eat. My sleep schedule is all messed up. Which wouldn't happen if the world would just let me stay up until 2 am like my body obviously wants to and sleep most of the day!
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I forgot to mention that I put a CD on for Aerin when she goes to sleep, which is a no-no according to most experts. Hey, she's obviously getting enough good sleep, so it works for her. The experts can go fly a kite. Or count some sheep in this case.
Got her down by 8:15 tonight. Whoo hoo!
Posts: 3037 | Registered: Jan 2002
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I don't have kids, so I don't know if I count, but I'm another one who can't go to sleep without a book. And TV or radio on? Never.
My mother was a night owl in a family of early birds. She still can't get over her odd children who used to cry to be put to bed if we were kept up too late. (I'm much more confused now--I like staying up for the freedom and quiet time at night, but if I listened to my body I'd probably be asleep by 9:30 most nights.)
Is there anyone else here who still reads this thread title as "Bad Habits" every single time?Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I fall asleep when my head hits the pillow and I have read before bed from a child up to high school. However, my boyfriend also read every night before sleeping and he takes forever to fall asleep.
Thus I think it depends on the actual person involved and their own sleep cycles and I don't think the reading before bed will hurt anyone in the long run.
Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
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quote:Originally posted by rollainm: My fiancee absolutely has to fall asleep with the TV on.
So does mine. She does it though because she's kinda afraid of the dark. I usually wait till she's sleeping then turn it off, or at least mute it. Then again, I'm used to falling asleep to music. However, the volume is so low you can barely hear it.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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My fiance still has stuffed animals, but she doesn't hug them when going to sleep. I don't own any stuffed animals anymore. I gave them to my younger relatives.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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I spoon my blankets sometimes... and listen to music until it turns off. I alwayas have trouble falling asleep when I am supposed to so I would tell myself stories.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:I forgot to mention that I put a CD on for Aerin when she goes to sleep, which is a no-no according to most experts.
Mrs. M, we do that for Rainbow too and it really works well for her. It even works for getting her down when she desperately needs a nap (about the only way she'll take one now is if she's exhausted). I think it's a great way to get small children to sleep and can't really see a downside unless it keeps them awake.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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I know that the reason people are told NOT to sleep in bed is because it CAN (not will) affect sleep patterns.
It is not usually a problem for most people, but for people who experience trouble sleeping it is a serious one. A lot of people have trouble sleeping, and it is at least in part because they never developed good sleep habits.
quote:
* Avoid late afternoon or evening caffeine and sugar consumption. (Sodas are usually a huge source of both sugar and caffeine.) * Avoid eating dinner later than three hours before bed if it seems to energize your child. (Eating too late at night raises the metabolic rate and energizes some children.) If your child has a bedtime snack, have it half an hour to an hour before bed. * Limit overstimulation. Limit television and video-game playing as well as reading an especially exciting book before bed. Play beautiful, soothing music of your choice to help calm and relax your household. * Have a quiet period just before bed. An easing-off period is important because most children have trouble going from full throttle to sleeping peacefully. * Have an evening bedtime snack that contains tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that the brain converts into melatonin, which assists in sleep. Many children find a glass of warm milk calming and it is a good source of tryptophan. Other sources of tryptophan include cottage cheese, yogurt, pineapples, plums, bananas, eggs, turkey, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews and peanuts. It's best to combine these tryptophan rich foods with complex carbohydrates like whole-grain cereals, bread or potatoes; it helps the brain to absorb the tryptophan. Bedtime snack suggestions: whole-grain cereal with milk, oatmeal with milk, peanut butter sandwich with ground sesame seeds, oatmeal cookies with milk. * Give your child a ten minute warning before it's time to get ready for bed to help him make the transition and finish up what he is doing. * Have a consistent bedtime and a consistent bedtime routine. A warm bath is particularly soothing for most children because it relaxes the muscles and gets their bodies ready for rest. * If your child is overly sensitive to light or sound, keep the lights dim and speak quietly throughout the bedtime routine. * Teach your child relaxation techniques such as those described in The Floppy Sleep Game Book.
Also...
Here is a good link...it states that while reading, baths, and soothing music can help, it is best to do those outside of the bedroom.
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