The Family Food Diaries: The Sleep Doctor on Schedules

This week in my Family Food Diaries, Lisa Lynch, "the sleep doctor" and her husband Ed, chime in on the importance of healthy food and exercise for good sleep.  She explains which foods stimulate your kids and which nudge them into nighttime.  

Elizabeth Lynch (Lisa) is a sleep and pulmonary medicine specialist and has two sons, Maccon (11) and Declan (7). She is a physician who is board certified in internal, pulmonary, and sleep medicine, and she is the founder of the Sleep Institute of New England, located in Kingston, New Hampshire. Her nickname is the "Sleep Doctor." Her husband, Ed, a medical videographer, helps with the business side of the practice and is home with the kids. He joined us during the interview to give us a flavor of what it's like to rear their two energetic, ravenous boys.

"Feeding your body is not just about food," Lisa tells me on a sunny day in her office. It's about all of our habits, day and night. We all need a regular routine, including exercise, good food, and good sleep."

"Routine makes life better. Kids like routine, just like adults."

It starts at bedtime at the Bonners' house. "We don't allow electronics in the bedroom. The boys are not allowed to have a television, an iPad, an iTouch, or i-anything in their room. They are allowed to have a book and a light and that's it. They're not lit up with stuff," Lisa expresses.

"I have found that, in my practice and at home, parents need to get their kids' brains to calm down at night. When you read to them, you can see their eyes begin to roll back in their head as they fall off to sleep."

From a very young age, the Bonners told their kids that their brain would turn to mush if they watched too much television or video games, and they're still consistent with that message—even though they laugh about it now.

"The food part is harder—because with the boys, they are hungry a lot. They'll have just eaten dinner at 6:30 p.m. and then, come 8:30 p.m., they are famished again, and they want to eat," Lisa says. "They're hungry all the time," Ed jumps in. "They eat a lot of bananas. We can't keep enough in the house. They eat five to seven meals a day."

To read the full article, click here.  Or go to www.traceymillerwellness.com.