I see other families who fly by the seat of their pants. I see the families who run hard and fast into the late hours of the night with children who fall where they stand and sleep amidst the chaos. Ive seen it and Ive often marveled at how easy going they all are and have simultaneously wondered what I was doing wrong with my babies. Fast forward many years.... Yesterday was not easy. Yesterday was in fact...oh so ugly. My boy, my spectrum kiddo, was awake at four when I got up. His light was already on when I stepped into the hallway. When I opened the door, I found electronics in his hand. The same electronics I cleared from the room before we went to sleep. At first he was mellow. At first he made excuses for being awake. At first he explained that 4 a.m. IS technically morning and fair game for electronics gaming. At first he was logical and precise. At first he tried to carry on a conversation. And then it happened. Composure was lost. He admitted, in a growling voice, he had actually found the electronics at midnight. When I pressed further, it became clear he had not slept at all. Not the whole night. As the truth tumbled forward, it became clear my boy had been gaming all night long, had lost sleep and was now not able to process anything with clarity. The further I tried to press him to gain the truth and understand what was happening, the more belligerent he became. A level of anger and push back appeared Id never seen before. We were at an impasse and he was clearly unable to see, through his intense need to justify his extreme electronics need, how out of balance we were. It tumbled so far into chaos that he began to cry uncontrollable. I cannot remember the last time my boy was upset enough to cry. He even said, I dont even know why Im crying. I hate how I feel. And that is when I understood why we are not the fly by the seat of our pants kind of family. This is what it has been like in our family from an early age when we miss sleep.... things fall apart. This is why we dont play around with sleep schedules. New studies are also revealing that electronics gaming and the constant staring at screens actually prohibits the production of melatonin....the supplement we also take for sleep help. Bingo. Yesterday, I made a schedule my boy can refer to when he needs to find constructive ways to fill his time. Activities that severely limit gaming and screens. Gaming is not entirely bad when done in a limited manner but last night clearly demonstrated just how much an addiction can prevent us from making healthy choices. Today we swam, played on the swing, hung out with the cat, made brownies, read, took a walk and had a limited time on our electronics/tv...and you know what?.....he slept ten hours last night and woke up that same logical and kind child I have experienced most of his life. The belligerence was no where to be found. We are clearly not the fly by the seat kind of family, LOL...kudos to you if you can do that but last night was ample evidence we are not. Never, ever underestimate the health benefits of sleep. Good old fashioned sleep
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 23:56:16 +0000
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