Momsomnia: Let's Get Some Answers

July 2009

Thank you to those of you who sent such wonderful, interesting responses to my last newsletter. (If you missed it, you can read it here.) Thanks also for the well wishes. I am doing much better now.

Of all the issues I wrote about, the one that seemed to have struck a chord the most was my “momsomnia.” It seems that many of us are not sleeping well. We know we should, but we don’t. Sometimes this is because we can’t sleep and other times it is because we choose to do other things instead.

I wish I could say that I have found the cure for momsomnia or the secret to better sleep, but I haven’t. Just last night, I broke my morning vow to go to bed early by staying up with my husband to finally watch the movie Juno. And the night before, I broke that morning’s vow to go to bed early by catching up on my email.

I find it ironic that I make my children adhere to a bedtime, but I can’t adhere to one myself. I tell them, “If you don’t get enough rest, you’ll be cranky tomorrow,” yet I am the one who is often cranky.

I remember being obsessed with my older daughter’s sleep patterns. I kept journals and logs, trying to unlock the secret of getting her to sleep more and on a more predictable schedule. Yet I don’t think I’ve done any sort of examination of my own sleep patterns—nor do I really want to.

I know in my head (I’m yawning right now as I type this) that I should get more sleep, but lately I find myself staying up late each night.

I don’t have a solution because I know that going to bed early means losing time with my husband, who has to work late most nights. Perhaps even more important, I would lose time doing things for myself. Sometimes those tasks include getting ready for the next day…doing a little housework or “work-work” the night before to make the next day a little less hectic. Or it might mean surfing the net, checking in with friends on Facebook, watching TV, etc.

I treasure the just-after-the-kids’-bedtime time. I like the quiet time to myself. I recognize that some moms may not even have this.

So I sleep less, and perhaps that’s the way it will be for a while. Or maybe not.

I’d love to hear back from you about how you are sleeping…whether or not you have sleep problems or issues. I’ve developed a short online questionnaire. Please take a moment to fill it out.

Click here to jump to the survey now.

Please also share this with as many moms as you can. We could all use some more answers on how to sleep better. I promise to report back with the results to everyone who responds.

Thanks in advance,
Stacy

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