Skip to content

Sleeping babies: Less shame. More sleep.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) currently advises parents to sleep in the same room (but never in the same bed) as their babies for a year, ideally, but at least for the first six months. In a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers led by Dr. Ian Paul, professor of pediatrics and public…

Read More

Sleeping less is not the secret to my productivity. Television is.

As a person who teaches elementary school, publishes novels, writes for magazines, owns and operates a wedding DJ company, runs a storytelling organization, and performs onstage regularly, I am often asked how I manage to get so much done. This question is almost always followed with this assumption: “You don’t sleep much. Do you?” Yes,…

Read More

Children sleeping in their parent’s room: I had strong opinions before I had kids. The results are now in.

The time has come.  Prior to the birth of my daughter, I would argue that it was fairly bizarre and unwarranted to have have children sleeping in their parents’ beds for any extended period of time. I expressed opposition to the idea that my children would be spending a significant portion of their sleeping hours…

Read More

A famous writer and I agree on the worst part of sleep

Someone on Twitter sent me this poem: “Sleep.Those little slices of Death. How I loathe them.” I read these three lines and thought, “Yes! I’m not alone! See? Someone else hates sleep, too! Someone else thinks that sleep is way too close to death! See? I’m not crazy!” Then I saw the poet: Edgar Allen Poe “Damn,” I…

Read More

Arrogance may be the perfect replacement to an extra hour or two of sleep

Some fascinating research seems to indicate that dwelling on how tired you are might actually make you more tired, and your perception of the quality of your sleep (regardless of reality) can impact your performance the following day. I’ve always argued that one of the reasons that I’m able to sleep fewer hours than most…

Read More

How I Function on Less Than 6 Hours of Sleep (and how you could, too)

Alexandra Damsker, CEO of Kira’s Kiss Desserts, explains how she is able to function on less than six hours of sleep. As a person who also sleeps less than six hours every night, I utilize many of Damsker’s strategies, and I’d like to add a few of my own. First, Damsker suggests reducing your television…

Read More

Productivity tip #10: Get out of bed.

I’m not saying to sleep less, though I think that a lot of people could stand to get out of bed a little earlier. No, this is much simpler. Once you are awake, get out of bed. My alarm goes off, and within seconds, I am out of my bed and starting my day. Would…

Read More

Did you know that Daddy doesn’t sleep. My daughter has proof.

My daughter woke up at 5:45 this morning. Sirens from nearby fire engines and police cars woke her up. After checking in on her mother and finding her asleep and fairly nonresponsive, she came downstairs. “Dad, I just can’t sleep.” “I know,” I said. “But it’s okay. It’s morning. You’re allowed to be awake. It’s…

Read More