As a food educator, I consider sleep to be an important nutrient, as vital to your health as health supportive food is.
As a parent, I’ve decided to say “no” to sleepovers until the end of the school year. Here’s why:
Yesterday, my daughter had a physical. The very first thing that the pediatrician asked her was “what time do you go to bed and what time do you get up in the morning?” I was happy to hear her ask my daughter that question, it shows her I’m not the only one who values sleep so highly.
According to Chinese medicine, sleep is when you grow and when you heal. Every parent knows that when their kids are going through a growth spurt, they sleep more. Anyone who has ever been sick knows that sleep is essential for healing.
Medical researchers have learned loads about the importance of sleep from fruit flies showing that sleep is directly involved with memory and learning. I’m not making this stuff up! Just Google “fruit flies and sleep” and you’ll see what I’m talking about!
Regular sleep schedules are the best way to ensure deep, restful, restorative sleep. That means taking an unpopular stand on my kid’s social lives, but I’m forever reminded that parenting is not a popularity contest.
