Best Summer Ever: Day 62

August 31:
Set Aside Time for Yourself

Here are four good reasons to make yourself a priority in your own life.

ONE: You’ll feel less stressed and better able to cope with the challenges of daily living if you take time for yourself on a regular basis

TWO: Taking time to relax gives your body a much-needed break. You'll sleep better, which allows your body to do its all-important overnight repair work.

THREE: You’ll reduce your odds of becoming ill. Chronic exposure to stress weakens your immune system, leaving you more susceptible to colds and other infections. Reducing stress does a body good -- literally.

FOUR: You'll put the sizzle back in your sex life.  Since stress is the ultimate anti-aphrodisiac, anything you do to relax and unwind can only do good things for your libido.

Best Summer Ever: Day 61

August 30
Get Yourself Back on Track Sleep-Wise

Most of us aren’t getting nearly enough sleep -- and we’re paying a hefty price as a result. We’re moody, we can’t concentrate, we’re having more car accidents. We’re even gaining weight because we’re not getting our zzzs—as University of Chicago researchers discovered when they studied the link between sleep deprivation and weight gain.

Starting to think that you should take sleep a little more seriously?

Here are some tips on maximizing your opportunities for sleep. (Of course, if you have a baby, those opportunities can be frustratingly elusive. You may need some additional strategies to help you get some sleep.)

Create a sleep environment that is sleep-enhancing: cool, dark, and quiet.

Reserve your bedroom for sleep and sex. No TVs, laptops, or other electronic gadgets. Otherwise, your brain will be wired to stay awake, not fall asleep.

Stick to a regular sleep and waking schedule. If you sleep in on weekends, you’ll end up suffering the sleep world equivalent of jet lag come Monday morning. (Not a great way to start the week.)

Limit your intake of caffeine after noon, and pass on the nightcap. Both caffeine and alcohol can interfere with a good night’s sleep.

Skip late-night workouts, hefty bedtime snacks, and late night-TV. They're anything but sleep-inducing. The Sandman is more likely to heed your call if you take a warm bath an hour or two before bed, and then listen to some relaxing music or read something that will lull you off to Dreamland.

Related:

University of Maryland: Sleep Hygiene: Helpful Hints to Help You Sleep

Best Summer Ever: Day 34

August 3
Give Your Body What It Wants This Morning

No, not a bathtub full of coffee: exposure to some really bright light.

Soak up some morning rays, even if it's just 15 minutes' worth while you're running errands or heading off to work. Your body clock will thank you for it. You'll be more alert all day and you'll sleep better tonight. (Or as well as any parent gets to sleep.)

* * *

BACK TO SCHOOL TIP: If your preteen or teen hasn't seen morning sunshine for a while, encourage your teen to start easing back into school-year sleep-wake routines within the next week or two. To make the transition from summer routines to school-year routines, your preteen or teen should move his summertime morning wake up time back by 15 to 30 minutes each day until he's getting up at the time he'll need to get up each morning for school. He can help the process along by spending some time outdoors each morning (ideally 15 to 30 minutes, if he can swing it). Exposure to bright light in the morning (ideally natural light in the form of sunlight) is one of the most powerful ways to reset the circadian rhythm (body clock).

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 28

July 28
Lighten the Load for Another Parent

Look for opportunities to lighten the load or advocate on behalf of a parent who is going through a particularly tough time.

If you've been through a tough time in your own life as a parent -- a time when you needed support from the proverbial parenting village in order to get through the most difficult of days -- you know what a difference such support can make.

Why not be that village for another parent?

Related:

Ontario Early Years Centres

Toronto Public Health: Healthy Babies Healthy Children

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.

Best Summer Ever: Day 4

July 4
Take a weekend nap

If you're in the Sandman's good books, the entire family may be able to journey to Napville together.

If you're not, you'll have to travel separately.

Either way, make sure everyone gets a turn catching up on their zzzzz's.

You don't want to set up an in-house battle between the sleep haves and the sleep have-nots.

Related:

CanadianFamily.ca: I Need a Nap, Too: Need a nap even more than your kids do? That makes you a perfectly normal parent.

Best Health: 19 Reasons to Take a Nap: Here's ammunition to help you make the case that you don't just want a nap. You need one.

Irritable? Take a Nap: This will help you to convince family members that they really want you to take a nap (e.g., there's nothing they want more).

Naps and Toddlers: Does your toddler still need a nap or is he -- yikes -- getting ready to give it up?

My Newborn Won't Nap: Strategies to help your baby to discover that naps are not the enemy.

Photo Credit: Ann Douglas, 2009.