I have always been an early riser, at least I thought I was, until I went to college, and learned the joys of partying. As a child, I would wake up at 5:30 AM, be at my best in the morning hours, and then go to bed by 8:30 or 9:00 each night. Getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night sent me into a circadian spin that took weeks to get back into rhythm.
Today, I get up before 6 AM for work, but I still live for the weekends, when I can lounge in bed until 10 or 11 AM and enjoy some of the dozing daydreams that make sleep so pleasant. To extend my sleep in the morning, I learned some tricks that may help you.
Set clothes out the night before. There is nothing more frustrating than being in a rush and having to coordinate clothes, particularly if it's dark and my Hubby is sleeping, and I don't want to turn on the light. That is why I try to pick out what I wear the night before. It makes it so much easier when I'm not functioning on all cylinders early in the day to walk out the door looking my best.
This is a MUST for children, particularly when they hit that stage when they get picky about what they wear. Let your child pick out their own clothes the night before. If they have a problem with making decisions, select two outfits and let them choose one. They will still feel independent while learning confidence in decision making.
Make lunches the night before. Immediately, after dinner, I would line up the lunch bags, and fill them in assembly-line fashion, labeling them with each of our names prior to lining them up. When completed, I stapled them and put them on the same shelf everyday and the children knew where to find them on their way out the door.
Hungry children early in the morning on a sleep-in day? Fill a bowl of dry cereal, cover with plastic wrap and put on the kitchen table along with a spoon. Using a creamer from your dishware, fill it up with enough milk and cover. There should be enough milk for your young child to use in his/her cereal, yet, the creamer should be light-enough to carry from the refrigerator to the table without spills. Add a box of raisins and you have a filling and healthy breakfast.
Routines, routines, routines... Humans function in rhythmic cycles. Routines are important from the first day of life. We know to function actively during the day and to rest and recoup that energy through sleep at night. Children who do best in school have routine life cycles. They rise and sleep at the same time each day. Their body craves energy through food at the same times each day.
We do an excellent job providing routines for our babies, but it seems to be a challenge as children get older. After all, working parents have to get chores done after work or late into the night and children often have to accompany them to do this. It what it is
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