Dads, are you getting enough sleep? Probably not. In this episode of The Lab, Daddy Clay talks with women's health expert Dr. Donnica Moore about why fathers aren't getting enough sleep. Find out how your risk of motor vehicle accidents increase with lack of sleep. She explains how television, as well as the Internet and social networking become distractions when trying to sleep. What is the role of children in sleep deprivation of parents? Do mom and dad need bed times too in addition to kids and teenagers? Your sleep environment such as the mattress you use also plays a role. Find out a trick to determine where you can find more time to sleep. DadLabs Ep. 788 is brought to you by BabyBjorn.

Daddy Clay: Welcome back to The Lab, I'm Daddy Clay. Today in The Lab, we've got Dr. Donnica Moore, recognized national expert on women's health. She's crossing over today to talk to us about dads and sleep. Come on back. You know, so dads we can be cited for making a lot of mistakes. Usually one we're not harsher upon for is not sleeping enough. Usually we're caught on the sofa. We're getting in trouble for naps. But dads aren't getting enough sleep.
Dr. Moore: Nobody's getting enough sleep. We have a national debt crisis in the crisis and it's a sleep deficit. A lot of people think they can rob Peter to pay Paul and cut back on our sleep so we can do the hundred other things that we have to get done in our day. And the fact is you can't make it up by taking a nap on the weekends or saving it up for vacation. It doesn't work that way.
Daddy Clay: So what exactly are the dangers of not getting enough sleep?
Dr. Moore: The biggest danger is that it increases our risk for accidents. And I'm taking mostly motor vehicle accidents. There are many more accidents per year caused by people falling asleep at the wheel or just not having as rapid reaction time.
Daddy Clay: What do you attribute to this national sleepiness? Why are we a tired nation more so than in the past?
Dr. Moore: Well I think there's a couple of factors that have really influenced this. First of all, when I was a kid, there were only four television stations. Now we probably have hundreds to choose from. Number two, of course, is the internet. And the Internet has all these social networking sites and other distractions that are very stimulating mentally and keep you up and are very addictive. And then number three, since we're talking to the dad labs, kids. Kids are a great source of sleep deprivation. They are wonderful in every way except the sleep can be very disruptive. And now I have teenagers. And forget sleeping when you have teenagers. It just doesn't happen. We always think it's the babies that are really disruptive to sleep. But try sleeping when your teenager is out with the car. It's just not gonna happen.
Daddy Clay: Oh I can see that coming. I've got a 12 year old about to turn 13 year old. And the parties and the obligations that he's got. It used to be just practices. Now it's these late night pickups that you've got to stay up for. And it's, I can see it doesn't get much better.
Dr. Moore: And that's a huge issue with teenagers. We're used to giving little kids bedtimes. But we have to think about giving big kids bedtimes. And we certainly have to think about parents having bedtimes. Because this is extremely important. And what we've tap-danced around is the issue of identifying what are the blockages or what are the hurdles or disruptors to your sleep. So we've talked about television, the internet, we've talked about kids. The next category of things which can be disruptive to your sleep is do you have a proper and comfortable sleep environment. So first of all, think about your mattress. Most of us have no idea when the last time we bought our mattress was unless it was in the past couple weeks. You're really supposed to change your mattress every 10 years at least. And of course, you've got kids jumping on your bed, you probably need to change it a little more frequently. Is your mattress conducive not only to a good night's sleep but also to two people sleeping in the same bed. One of the biggest things that causes couples to have problems sleeping is when one rolls over, and the other one feels every motion. Of course there's the whole temperature debate also. And this is why Simmons is known for the pocketed coil spring technology which limits motion transfer from one person to another.
Daddy Clay: So, give me some advice here. In my life I've basically got four pots of time right? I've got work, I've got time with the kids, I've got exercise, and I've got sleep. So, I'm not getting enough sleep. Which pot do I take from to get more sleep? I mean, work is not really very flexible. I don't put in terrible hours so that's kind of off the table. So it leaves time with my family and exercise.
Dr. Moore: I think then what you need to do and what I recommend for people who really tell me that I've only got these categories of time, is you really need to keep a diary for three days. That's all you need to do. And write down honestly exactly how you're spending your time. And what you will identify is the time wasters. So when I did this exercise for myself, my big number one time waster was email and Facebook.
Daddy Clay: Very, very important issues. Thank you so much for sharing this with us Dr. Donnica. We really appreciate it. Now I want everybody who's watching to go to bed. But first we what to thank our sponsors BabyBjorn. Of course, nothing's healthier for a baby's sleep than a Babysitter Balance or maybe a Travel Crib Light. They could even sleep in the classic Baby Carrier Original Spirit. Thanks very much for BabyBjorn. Thanks for joining us here in The Lab. We'll see you next time.