Sunday Roundup

This week, I loaded up a U-Haul van to take my youngest daughter to college for her freshman year, and to help my older daughter get settled in for her junior year. It's a big transition, not just for them but for their mom, who will be an empty nester for the first time in 21 years. Our lives have been so consumed with the details of the move, there hasn't been much time to contemplate the emotional logistics. I thought long and hard about what my parting advice to them should be. I decided on, "get enough sleep!" Indeed, HuffPost College has launched a campaign urging students to replace the traditional "Freshman 15" (pounds), with the "Freshman 8" (hours of sleep). Check out Dr. Michael Breus's post on why this is so important, and these great tips on getting enough sleep in a dorm... without your mommy there to tuck you in.

Take the Freshman 8 pledge, and participate on Facebook!

Pledge To Sleep 8 Hours A Night!

And let your friends know about it.

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Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[csdbill]

01:00 PM on 08/30/2010

Congratulations! Trust me that being an "empty nester" is wonderful -- although the nest is never really empty as the birds tends to come back from time to time. Next major stage: beaming with pride and joy when they earn their degrees. Beyond that comes the even better stage of their being gainfully employed!!!! Enjoy!

[CAPTAINSKIPPY]

02:07 AM on 08/30/2010

Excellent advice; optimal mental health depends on getting adequate sleep regularly, allowing your nervous system to recharge and your internal biochemistry to rebalance.

[pbfishtaco]

12:05 AM on 08/30/2010

Sleep on the private charter on the way to Switzerland. You'll be refreshed for lunch with Newt and Callista.

[OldKnute]

10:53 PM on 08/29/2010

SLEEP!

Yes Arianna.
Essential to critical thought. Lack of sleep,,, leaves the mind TOOOO open to suggestion, to planting falsehoods to be then taken as FACT, when the truth is what is most important,,, not just suggestions of what “others” would have you believe.

A clear mind, a rested mind, is what is needed for learning. NOT just indoctrination, but investigation, inquiry, exploration, research, analysis.

Also, during these times of DEEP restful sleep,, the human mind can process the days events, seek out consistencies, separate garbage from truth, in essences, connect the DOTS.

My advice,,, a 30 minute power NAP too. Every afternoon, an hour on weekends. AND do so, with a notepad and pen handy. Develop the habit of taking NOTES upon waking from Power Naps.

All the best
Knute
TR Knudtson

[shylove2]

08:34 PM on 08/29/2010

Well the only advice is learn all you can about Asia and China and India. Then how to evade secret surveillance operations and finally what to do in case of a preemtive strike by a country that is paranoid they may be under attack by us soon since we have declared our special forces are allowed to operate anywhere in the world for any reason they want whether the country want them to or knows anything about.

[SemperVeritas]

08:30 PM on 08/29/2010

I work with elementary and middle school students.

It's absolutely shocking that the vast majority of them
get less than 6 hours sleep a night. High school kids
get even less sleep.

And most of them have *nothing* for breakfast.

How can they possibly be engaged in their academic
work?

My car doesn't run when the tank is empty....

[Lady Rhiannon]

07:31 PM on 08/29/2010

A bittersweet time, for sure. But an exciting new beginning for mother and child. I don't know if you found this to be true, but most mothers found that by the time their little darlings were ready to go, you were ready to let them. I believe children have to push you away (a little) in order to successfully separate from you. Dry your tears, and enjoy this new chapter in your life!

[Joseph Conklin]

07:20 PM on 08/29/2010

What an amazing time in your life! I envy you. We still have two in high school. I can't wait till we pack them off for college. Teenagers!!! We will probably miss them when they are gone though.

[SemperVeritas]

08:32 PM on 08/29/2010

You will, it is certain.

Fan #1.

[Chopin]

07:12 PM on 08/29/2010

Arianna, I trust you had a refreshing vacation.
This Sunday, as the saying goes, "is the beginning of the rest of your life."
I have no grand or trite "How to" advice.
But, just drive down to your corner Blockbuster, grab a stack of movie DVD's,
grab a bowl of popcorns, curl up in your comfortable sofa, and treat yourself.

"Under the Tuscan Sun" (Diane Lane):--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql6dTWwMCqA
"Nights in Rodanthe" (Richard Gere, Diane Lane) Interview and movie:--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaNQ4OXnZqU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8jzoOq4Fe0
"Cleopatra" (Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison):--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzruB19CFgI&feature=related
"Gone with the Wind" (Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh):--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgF-rcHcPqE&feature=related
"Dances with Wolves" (Kevin Costner):--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ4FQfSeksA&feature=related
.

[racerx577]

05:31 PM on 08/29/2010

Hi Arianna,,yea my son starts college in Hollywood A.M.D.A. 35 thousand somthin,,College, as a job and health care and pensions should be an american right..Please do an in depth investigative reporting on THE INCREDIBLE SCAM, that is college textbooks,,,please millions of students are being ripped off not once but several times over,,i'll help you if I can..

[springsm]

05:42 PM on 08/29/2010

With such bitter feelings towards higher education, why not keep the boy home, send him to a technical school, let him work to pay for that.

[pegster14]

06:00 PM on 08/29/2010

Where would all the $$$ come from to pay for guaranteed college, jobs, health care and pensions come from? Just askin....

[BillBadger]

08:03 PM on 08/29/2010

they do it in France: and they drink and smoke and live longer (national healthcare--and for less than we pay).

[Dunelm]

04:30 PM on 08/29/2010

I think healthy sleep habits have to begin when children are very small. I notice that our neighbors' children do not seem to have a set bedtime. I notice how many small children are out to dinner long past a desirable bedtime. Are these bad habits because parents will not sacrifice their own wants from their children's needs?

[springsm]

05:45 PM on 08/29/2010

Yes, and in high school, there is no guidance about when lights are out and technical devices are silent. So now they need to change the hours of school bells because parents won't set guidelines. Kids need their sleep afterall....and even in my day in college, the best education happened to be the bull sessions after we were in our dorms...mandatory.

[tissa]

04:10 PM on 08/29/2010

I have a 6 year old daughter who will be starting first grade soon, and when she started Kindergarten last year, I completely was so sad, I was so used to her being at home with me all day....I can only imagine how hard it will be when she starts college...

[springsm]

05:47 PM on 08/29/2010

Long time away Mom, but it does go quickly. What I did was look at the enthusiasm my students felt going off to college (even through the homesicknesses and anxieties) and lived through those years with that in front of me. That was the way we got through it and the kids did too.

[gloriab]

03:56 PM on 08/29/2010

Bravo! We are a sleep deprived nation. I emphasized the importance of sleep to my students and their parents with informative articles on the subject. Teens need 8.5-10 hours of sleep, researchers say. Some are coming to class with less than 6 hours. It really makes a difference. Stop texting, get off the computer, shut the TV. Go to sleep in there!

[dteg]

03:25 PM on 08/29/2010

More good advice is to attend your class 100%. of the time. It is mandatory if you want to get good grades..

[springsm]

05:47 PM on 08/29/2010

And brown nose whenever possible it seems. I surely saw that work.

[springsm]

05:48 PM on 08/29/2010

I would add that I woulnd't condone that, but it happens. So does cheating. My advice would be to "be smart in all things, college".

[Susan Orlins]

02:35 PM on 08/29/2010

The empty nest is so difficult. My latest salve is that I have a regular Monday night cooking date at my home with my oldest daughter's best friend who lives near me. Getting together with a surrogate child gives me something special to look forward to! I infuse my woes with humor and worry about my kids' sleep and everything else imaginable on my blog www.confesstionsofaworrywart.com as well as on Huff Po.