Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Do you know how many hours of sleep is enough for your personal needs? The fact is that the need for sleep varies from individual to individual.

 

For instance Thomas Edison only slept three or four hours a week as he considered it to be a waste of time not to be conscious. President Clinton admitted to only getting five or six hours during his reign in the U.S. White House. Martha Stewart also only gets four or five hours. The same goes for Jay Leno.

 

Then there are those at the other end of the spectrum. The glamorous actress Marlin Monroe needed twelve hours a night. President Calvin Coolidge needed eleven hours. Some people just could not get enough sleep.

 

Some great figures in history made up for compromised sleep times by taking power naps whenever they could.

 

Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Winston Churchill often took cat naps during the day to make up for sleep debt that would occur at night
In general there are some widely held beliefs about sleep – among them are –?
• Older people need less sleep.
• Getting to bed before midnight is best.
• A heavy meal makes you sleepy.
• You need eight hours of sleep every single night to stay healthy.
• Snacks before bedtime give you nightmares.
• A glass of wine before bedtime helps you sleep better.
• Exercising before bed leaves you sleep deprived.
• Naps prevent you from sleeping at night.
And of course, how could we forget …'Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.'

 

Although most of this advice is good it's not totally on target. The fact is that there is no prescribed amount of sleep for everyone.

 

Can people function well on six or save hours of sleep? Or is it true that you need more than that to function well?

 

To evaluate this you need to ask yourself —
• How much sleep do I get each night during the week?
• Is it different on the weekends?
• Do I fall asleep the minute the head hits the pillow?
• Do I need an alarm clock to wake me up?
If you get less than eight hours each night or on weekends or if you fall asleep instantly or need an alarm clock consider yourself to be one of the millions of chronically sleep deprived people in this society! Time to get more or you could be slipping up as a Mom just because you will not be thinking that clearly.

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Making Christmas Wreathes with the Kids

Making your own Christmas Wreath with the kids is very simple. There are a couple of ways to do it.
The first way to make your own Christmas wreath is without an armature. An armature is a wire frame. I always thought I had to go to Walmart to get one of these or the wreath would not turn out. This is not true. This means going outside and collecting your own branches from a pine, spruce or other type of evergreen tree. Collect some pine cones too. Just remember not to hurt any trees that you may be stripping of branches.
Once you have found the boughs that you want to use to all you need is some heavy duty wire. Bend the boughs into a circular shape and attach them in place with the wire. Attach some pine cones to the boughs with wire as well as some shiny red and green ribbons and you will have created the simplest wreath possible. Keep in mind too that you can also string this type of wreath with battery operated xmas lights to make it look more glamorous. The only caveat – don't let really young kids get a hold of wire cutters.
The second way to make a Christmas wreath is to buy a Styrofoam armature at a crafts store. You can then glue or pin any type of object that you want to these circular shapes to make your own wreath.
An easy wreathe to make is one made out of shiny Christmas balls. All you need to do in this case is buy some inexpensive glass balls and then pin them to the armature in a circle. The entire thing can be finished off with a bright big bow at the top.
One of the most popular homemade Christmas wreath ideas is the wreath made out of candy canes. This is a good one for kids, especially if they are good with tape. All you need is tiny candy canes that you can pin, tape or glue to the armature to makes a sunburst shape.
If your kids are older and can handle a needle and thread then make is one made out of popcorn. These look great decorated with green or red bows.
A good example of an easy and clever Christmas wreath to make is the one made by Martha Stewart that was constructed entirely out of gum drops. She simply pushed pins through gumdrops and then pushed them into the armature. The frost on the gum drops made the homemade Christmas wreath look as if it was frosted with snow.
A picture frame hook can be used to help hang any type of wreathe on the front door or a mantelpiece. Another option is to simply hang it on a nail and attach it with wire or looped fishing line. However this can ruin your door. They can also be laid flat on a table with a candle placed in the center to create an attractive holiday centerpiece. Don't place a candle in the center of this type of decoration unless you are absolutely certain that the materials are not flammable.

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