The sleep we all need

Our son's school recently announced a change to its bell schedule for the next school year. Instead of starting at 9:15 am (which admittedly is a late start), they will be starting at 7:15 am.

I cannot overstate the push back this news received in my household.

My son was aghast, since 7:15 is the time he normally wakes up in the morning, and he began mourning the loss of his future sleep. He also started spouting my words back at me about how children need to make sure they get enough sleep every night, and that this change was going to ruin his ability to concentrate. (I only have myself to blame.)

My husband, quite rightly, pointed out that our morning and evening routines would need to be adjusted to meet this new schedule, and that he and I would probably have to get used to new traffic patterns on our way to work as a result.

The announcement included all the reasons the school wanted to make the change - and I do support the school in its reasoning - but I am still thinking about the sleep factor.

I think my son gets plenty of sleep right now, but if you ask him, he states that it is never enough. I often wonder if this is because I equate "sleeping" with "going to bed," and he is really laying there for a long time trying to fall asleep. I know that my husband has struggled with his own sleep rhythms for most of his life. While I can be sympathetic to that, I don't really know what it feels like for either of them.

So, I am trying to approach the changes to our schedules with an open mind. The last thing that I want is to negatively affect my son's sleep at such an early age. But it is hard to know the full impacts to any adjustments, since research is still so divided on how much sleep is enough.

I think this is one of those areas where we all have to learn how our bodies fit within the guidelines.

Do you know how many hours of sleep you need at night to feel rested? Tell me in the comments.