While many of us feel frequently exhausted, reputable time diary studies show that even busy people actually get adequate sleep from a quantitative perspective. The problem is that for many people it’s disorderly sleep: short some nights and unexpectedly (or desperately) long others. Consistent sleep — best achieved by giving adults a bedtime right alongside the kids — is the secret to making life feel like less of a slog.
In the far reaches of my memory, I can picture a scene from my childhood. My little brother and I are in his bedroom, playing with our Playmobil figurines. We put the children to bed, as we were always put to bed. But the adults? We announce, with some glee, that they are going to stay up all night.
Oh, the irony. My adult reality is a long way from wanting to stay up all night because I can. As the mother of five, I feel like I spend copious energy some days trying to convince everyone else in my house to fall asleep so I can…
This article was written by Laura Vanderkam and originally published on hbr.org