Sleep--Is It Really a Big Deal?

My entire life I have had people telling me that sleep is essential for good health. Some have even cited sleep as one of the key factors to optimal health. However, as a former sleep-deprived college student and a current mother of four young children (no point in putting "sleep-deprived" as an adjective here since it is synonymous with "mother of young children"), I can attest to the fact that I have survived on less-than-ideal amounts of sleep for literally years now, and I still consider myself to be in excellent health. Despite that, there is this nagging voice in the back of my head asking me just how optimal my health is and what my quality of life has been like during those years. It's true that I have survived the last 10 years of motherhood on very little sleep. But is that all I'm aiming for? To survive?

I am starting to see a pattern develop with my mood swings. While there are undoubtedly other factors involved, I have definitely noticed that my worst moods are directly correlated with less sleep. In other words, the more sleep-deprived I am, the more depressed I am. And moody. And impatient. And pessimistic. And mean. And angry. Those are exactly the things I am actively working to change or to overcome in myself. But for some reason I have not looked my sleep patterns squarely in the eye as a possible culprit. Why? Maybe because I feel like I don't have enough time as it is. Maybe because I use late nights to escape when things are getting too hard or too busy in my life. Maybe because sleep is the easiest thing to cut out when there's a lot to do. But then again, maybe these issues wouldn't be issues if I were getting enough sleep.

It's time to stop avoiding the issue, though. I'm sick of merely "surviving." I want to actually start living. I want to have the energy and the patience and the light-heartedness that will allow me to actually enjoy my life and enjoy being with and playing with my children. Will sleep give me those things? I don't know. But I'm determined to find out. For the next month I am setting a goal to get to bed by 9:00 every night. That will be tough for me. I know that will mean leaving the dishes undone or that load of laundry unfolded sometimes. (Who am I kidding? It's left unfolded most of the time anyway.) I know it will mean thinking out of the box when it comes to date nights with my husband or girls nights with my friends. And I know not to expect 100%. But if I can do it even 90% of the time, I have a strong suspicion that my life will change completely. And frankly, as I write this from a totally sleep-deprived state, I am excited to see what my

new life looks like.