Lack of sleep can lead to irritability, lack of concentration and a whole host of issues that can make getting through the day miserable — for children and adults, CNN reports.
While most parents know keeping a routine is important for children, with all the changes going on in the world right now, they may be struggling to keep a routine too. And that can impact sleep and mood for everyone in the family — if everyone is tired and cranky, it’s a recipe for a grumpy disaster of a day, or week.
“I think a lot of people are staying up late because of what’s going on, so I think it ends up becoming, you can get a new sleep cycle, a circadian rhythm, that can be a problem because now you’re going to bed later, you’re waking up later, you’re losing a routine,” explains New York City-based sleep and health psychologist Joshua Tal. “I think setting up proper routines could be the No. 1 intervention for sleep and mood, waking up at the same time every day, going to sleep at the same time and so on.”
