SLEEP DEPRIVATION AND THE (TEMPORARILY) SINGLE MOM

Posted by: Anne Tergesen on October 12

Thanks to everyone for their sympathetic responses to my last blog, about how I find it almost impossible to get my three sons, ages 8, 6, and 4, to bed on time. In the week since my 6-year-old’s first grade teacher called to complain that he’d been dozing-off during reading, my husband and I have been making huge strides towards imposing a saner bedtime: 8:30 – or 8:45 at the latest (I swear!) – rather than 9:30.

But while the kids have been getting to bed earlier, I haven’t. And this week could be a total disaster if I’m not careful. Why? I’ll be a single mom for most of it. My husband, who usually travels a day or two a month, has picked up the travel obligations of a honeymooning colleague. After a 5-day trip to the mid-west two weeks ago, he’s now gone to the west coast for another five days.

I don’t sleep well when he’s not here. One reason is nerves: After an attempted break-in two years ago, I’m on hyper-alert when I’m the only adult at home. But I’m also my own worst enemy: A true night owl, I love to stay up late talking on the phone, eating cookies in bed, and watching episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” on DVD.

Add to that the adrenaline rush I experience when I know I have to power through the week solo, and the result isn’t pretty: I get totally sleep deprived at precisely the time I need to get even more sleep than normal.

Now that I’ve imposed a reasonable bedtime on my kids, I know I need to do the same with myself—and not just while my husband is away. With memories of my utter exhaustion after his last trip fresh in my mind, I’m ready to be reformed. So, here’s my bold plan to ruthlessly rid myself of my usual excuses for staying up late: No TV until Friday night (my last as a single mom); No calling my sisters after 10:30; No work—including this blog—after 11:00; No reading—not even the shortest of news articles—after 11:30. No nothing after 11:45. That sounds really boring. But it gives me a shot at 7 ½ hours of sleep a night. It’s not the eight hours I really need. But at least I won’t be falling asleep at my desk.

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