Last week we talked about buying your way into happiness. What better way to top that this week than to sleep your way to happiness? 😉

Alright, I know… you’re probably going to say — “I can spare some money to buy happiness. But, C’mon! Finding time to sleep? Ha! Did you forget that we’re parents here?!!”

Actually, no. That was exactly what I thought when I first saw the suggestion in this article to sleep more to become happier.

And then I came across this article which reports Norbert Schwarz, Ph.D., a professor of psychology, to have said:

Making $60,000 more in annual income has less of an effect on your daily happiness than getting one extra hour of sleep a night.

What really made me decide to take on this topic however, was this fantastic review of a book on my to-read list. It makes a very strong argument that kids who do not get sufficient sleep not only tend to lag in terms of IQ and are at a higher risk for ADHD and obesity, but also are neurologically prone to retaining negative emotions and bad memories more than good ones, based on how the brain works.

Yikes!

Now, we have no choice. Good sleep habits — both for yourself and the kids — is not just a luxury but a key integral element of the quest for our family’s happiness!

So this week let’s simply focus on sleep…

Note: This article is not about sleep training your baby — for that I refer you to Heather’s wonderful guide of 62 Tricks to Get a Baby Sleeping (it’s even formatted exclusively for sleep-deprived parents!)

This article is more about changing our mindset about sleep and creating some good sleep habits for the whole family to last a lifetime, ultimately paving the way for long-term happiness.

Alright, let’s dive in.

Importance of Sleep: Why Sleep is Not Just a Luxury, But a Necessity

Unless you live on a desert island completely cut off from the modern society, chances are, you have more to do than the number of hours to do them in. With that kind of time economics in play, it is rather easy to fall into the trap of thinking that sleep is a luxury enjoyed only by the unambitious, the unproductive or the uninteresting folks.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth!

I’m learning that sleep is more of a necessity than a luxury for far too many reason than I can list here, but the ones I found most interesting are – [Read more…]

Raise your hands if you think your kids have way more Stuff – toys, clothes, books, trinkets, gadgets – than they need…

I bet most of you mentally raised your hands, right?

It seems to be the case in most households these days!

We try not to indulge our daughter with too much Stuff, but honestly, she has way more things than what a child really needs.

And I am not alone. I see the same thing in most of my friend’s families. While most of us agree that we don’t want to spoil our kids (or ourselves for that matter!) with too much Stuff, it seems like somehow Stuff finds its way into our houses. After all, we all work hard to earn some money, what’s the harm once in a while in spending a little to buy something that makes us or our kids happy, right? And before we know it, there’s Stuff everywhere.

Well, intentionally or not, we are going about this all wrong. Behavioral scientists and researchers have shown time and again that while the old adage “Money can’t buy happiness” is not necessarily true, buying more and more Stuff is definitely not the way to go. If you do want your money to buy happiness, then the key is to spend it correctly.

And what is that correct way? And why? How do we incorporate this into our families? [Read more…]