Going to bed at the right time can be a struggle whether you're an adult trying to get enough sleep, trying to ensure that your child gets enough sleep, or both. At some point or another we all struggle with sleep and probably more often than not we don't get as much sleep as we need.
Some simple strategies can help to improve your (or your child's) sleep but everything begins with figuring out just how much sleep you need. The amount of sleep needed varies by age but there are also individual variations. To feel well rested some people need more sleep than others, you may be surprised to learn that you or your child needs more sleep than you originally thought.
To figure out your ideal amount of sleep; record the total number of hours slept over a few nights when there is no scheduled time to wake up. This best time to figure this out is over the weekend or a holiday when you do not have a specific time that you need to wake up. Once you know how much sleep you need to feel well rested calculate a bed time by counting backwards from the ideal waking time. Try to pick a waking time that you can stick to throughout the week and not need to extend on weekends. Some tips on how to stick to this bed time to come in future posts!
