sleeping mom

I knew it! Mommy Brain is not a myth! Turns out getting less than six to eight hours of sleep per night on average can actually age the brain four to seven years. So all of that absentminded behavior you've been blaming on your kids? You really can blame it on your kids!

If you're like me (that is to say, exhausted), you feel oddly satisfied every time another study comes out about the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Of course I can't remember where I put the keys ... lack of sleep leads to forgetfulness! Yeah, I'm cranky -- you want to make something of it? Losing valuable snooze time causes irritability. As for that "short" email it's taking me an hour to write? Chalk that one up to fatigue-induced inability to concentrate.

 

 

I have to admit, my initial Woo-hoo! reaction to these latest findings was followed by a mild wave of concern. Less than six to eight hours ... four to seven years ... Does this mean I'm eligible for senior citizen discounts?

I'm too tired to do the math (surprise, surprise) but I've been skimping on sleep for about ten years now ... hmm. No wonder trying to decode the blueprints for my son's Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts gives me a migraine. This is why I feel like an old lady who can't figure out how to work her remote control! Lately, I've stopped bothering to look at manuals for new pieces of technology altogether -- I just hand the blackberry or whatever it is over to my ten-year-old and let her figure it out.

Which reminds me, I should probably be more tolerant of my own mother the next time she asks me (again) to show her how to attach a file to an email.

Do you feel like sleep-deprivation has made you old before your time?


Image via Metheus Epri/Flickr