How many sleep until Christmas?  The answer is “alot”.  While the holiday season has kicked off, it’s a long month with lots of extra demands for many families. It seems even longer if you aren’t getting enough sleep.

Looking after your sleep this holiday season:

• Try to stick to your usual sleep routine as much as possible.  Christmas parties and disrupted household schedules mean that sleep routines also get disrupted.

• Make lists (even pencil and paper next to your bed) rather than letting “Oh, I need to remember…” pop into your head as you try to go to sleep or wake you at 3am

• Get outside during the daylight for at least 10 minutes.  It doesn’t have to be sunny, it doesn’t have to be alot – but even a few minutes of gentle movement, such as walk during lunch or coffee break, can help.

• Make sure kids stay active.  Your child/teen needs 60 minutes of vigorous play a day.  As Christmas excitement builds, help them find activities to use up that energy and sleep better.

• Got an Elf on the Shelf?  Set a reminder on your phone (and ideally, also your partner’s phone) each evening to remind you to move him/her around the house to prevent the middle-of-the-night “I forgot to move the Elf!”. Got a savvy kid who plays with your phone?  Pro-tip:  do not save the reminder asv”Move Elf” but something more subtle such as “Check on *elf name* before going to bed”.

• For more on sleep, check out:  Let’s Talk

Healthy Holidays is a virtual advent calendar helping you look after your health this winter.