A time for everything!

Every time I find an infant of about nine months, reaching out to a toy and place it in his or her mouth, I am least surprised. It is the natural instinct of babies at that age. But by 18 months, most babies are used to playing with toys and it is less common for them to prefer to mouth toys, although some would still mouth toys when not meaningfully occupied.

There is an justifiable time or season for most things. 

There is a time to work, eat, play, study, sleep etc. in the chronology of the day.

Yesterday, a child, who is seven years of age,  who came to visit me mentioned that it is difficult to get up in the morning on time to go to school and he feels sleepy during class hours. He goes to bed only around 11 pm regularly. 

I frequently hear from parents about tiredness, listlessness, distractibility, who are awake till late in the night. 

Some postpone sleeping to finish work that is pending. 

Most of us go through the day without paying attention to the sleep debt we accumulate by sleeping late. The average time  children need for sleep is eight to ten hours, the younger children needing more time and older children needing less. Most adults too would need around six to seven hours of sleep. 

When this sleep rhythm is not practiced, there is sleep deprivation which is responsible for  declining  in efficiency, alertness and wellness. In fact irresistible micro sleep which falls upon us at inappropriate times such as while driving, performing a surgery, attending a lecture, etc is a sign of sleep deprivation. 

We cannot be well and stay refreshed if we accumulate sleep debt. The week ends are good times to replenish our sleep deprivation and begin the week refreshed.

The rhythm of day and night is given to us; it is necessary to honour that rhythm.   

M.C.Mathew(photo and text)