When it comes to good sleep, parents need bedtimes, too
Davis Orders knows about sleep. As the dad of three children from infant to preschool ages, he doesn’t always get to experience as much of it as he would like, but he does know the ins and outs of catching some Zs.
Orders is Director of Sales and Marketing Operations at Engineered Sleep Mattress Company, a fourth generation mattress manufacturer located in Greenville. The company sells directly to consumers from its showroom and online.
“My family has been making mattresses in Greenville since the 1930s,” he said.
Sleep is something Orders spends a lot of time thinking and learning about in his professional life. When sleep is impaired, it can impact aspects of life far beyond yawning during a meeting or dozing off during a movie. Good sleep is a necessity.
“Even a lot of professional athletes over the past five years or so have really started to take notice of how much it can increase their performance, almost more than anything else they do,” he said. “When you're sleeping, your body restores itself, increases the strength of your immune system so you're less likely to get sick and just helps your mind be sharper, if you can get that full night of sleep. It is super important.”
In addition to the need for a good mattress, Orders is spreading the word about sleep hygiene, especially for parents and children.
“If you do have kids, it definitely starts with trying to get those kids on a schedule so you can kind of predict what your bedtime is going to be,” he said. “Stuff happens. Kids get sick, have an off night or whatever. But when it comes to parents, I feel like most of the time, it's like you haven't really had much time to yourself, so you want to watch TV or eat food or dessert, but it is good to try to limit that screen time as you get closer to going to bed. Don't eat food too late. If you can eat a little earlier in the evening, a few hours before you go to bed, you're going to get a much better night's sleep. And if you haven't been sitting there staring at your screen, it's going to be easier for you.”
But Orders is practical in his advice because he lives it every night.
“Everything's a lot easier on paper,” he said. “My philosophy is, these are general things that will help but give yourself a little bit of grace. Sometimes you're going to say, ‘I want to do this tonight. I know this isn't going to help me, but I need this for my mental sanity.’ But generally speaking, just as your kids need to be on a sleep routine, it really helps you if you're on a sleep routine as well.”
That includes having fairly consistent sleep and waking times.
When it comes to waking up in the morning (or sleeping in on occasion), Orders said his children have used a green light clock. The green light comes on to let little ones know it is an acceptable time to get up. But he discovered that sometimes the light was actually waking them up, so its use depends on the day and the child.
At bedtime, Orders said his children like white noise.
“Now I know some people think oh, that's not good,” he said. “We do use white noise, and I was actually on a podcast with a sleep specialist from Harvard. His best recommendation was to use white noise to fall asleep, but then have it set on a timer for one or two hours. We also love to keep the air circulating in the room to keep it cool. But the biggest things in the room for you and your kids are going to be noise, light and temperature.”
Learn more about Engineered Sleep at engineeredsleep.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: When it comes to good sleep, parents need bedtimes, too
