Back to School Means Bedtime is Stress Time

​Back to school is occurring all over the place and my clients tell me that bedtime is a challenge.  Not just for the children but for themselves.  You need to create a new bedtime routine for the family now that there are so many activities like homework, after-school activities, and sports.  Because it is the beginning of the school year your children are not used to going to bed early enough to get the sleep their body requires.   
Once you have finally gotten them off to bed, you start your chores.  You finish them and you finally get a few minutes to wind down.  But it never feels like enough.  You end up scrolling and watching Netflix or a cat video to help you disconnect from the day’s work.
When you finally do get to lie down your mind is racing with all the things you did not do or need to do tomorrow, and you are awake until 2am. 
How to do you manage to make sleep a priority when you can’t shut off the day.  This is where you want to look for one or two small habits to allow you to wind down quickly.

• Take the time to write out what needs to be done tomorrow.  Writing it out will allow the tasks to not keep floating around in your mind so you do not forget them
• Do some light stretches.  Stretch your neck and shoulders to release a day’s worth of tension that has been sitting there.
• Listen to something soothing before sleep, it will help you sleep better than watching something on your phone or scrolling through your social media. 

You need to remember that sleep is part of how you unwind and recharge yourself.  Do not put sleep on the back burner.  Allow yourself the time to get the 7-9 hours of sleep you need and deserve.