Inside: While consistency matters, so does sleep. And there are times when sleep trumps your early morning routine. Here are some ways to decide when to stay in bed: 

Always clean up the kitchen right after dinner. 

But your kid needs help finishing his homework before soccer practice…

“Jesus” is always the right answer in Sunday School.

But the question was about the guy with twelve sons...

My husband always leaves his socks on the floor.

But I don’t remember picking up a sock today...

Here is the problem with always statements - they just aren’t true.

And when all the personal development books, morning routine gurus, Instagram influencers, and successful CEOs tell you that you should always wake up early, it just isn’t true either. 

Believe me, I love an early morning routine just about as much as anyone. I love the quiet, I love the dark, I love the alone-ness.

But I don’t believe that waking up early is always best.

I love consistency and routine. But I don’t believe consistency is always what is needed. 

When Sleep Trumps Waking Up Early

Every mama who starts a life-giving morning routine (a Mama’s Morning) will find more contentment, joy, and purpose in motherhood - of this I am convinced. But there are some real situations when waking up before the kids just isn't the best thing to do. 

So how do you know when to wake up early, and when to sleep in? Here are 5 good reasons to stay in bed:

Your kids are sick and were up all night

Which of course means you were up all night as well. So mama, get back in bed! Today, your body probably needs sleep even more than your 30 minutes alone. So give your body what it is craving (and make space later in your day to get the time alone you need). 

You are sick

Sleep and rest are two of the best medicines. So stay in bed (as long as possible…).

You’ve been consistently getting less than 6-7 hours for the past week. 

That is called sleep deprivation, mama! Which isn’t good for you or anyone around you. You need sleep. And despite what you may hear in on the Web, we all need more than a few hours a night. Sure, you can train your body to run on less sleep. You can also train your body to eat nothing but McDonalds but that doesn’t mean it is healthy, right?

You’ve got a newborn who is up all night

If there was ever a season to rearrange your early morning routine, this is it mama. If this is your first, I know you are excited about your new mama routine, but please, for everyone's sake - sleep when your baby is sleeping! 

If you're on your 5th baby, this is a moot point. You decided long ago that early mornings were going to take a back seat for a couple of months. 😉

You make the deliberate choice, before you go to bed, that you are going to sleep in a little. 

There are special days throughout the year where you might decide you want to sleep later. And if you choose that - great! But the point is to make the deliberate choice ahead of time - don’t make it when the alarm goes off and it’s still dark outside. 

But Don’t Let It Become Habit

Last week Lance and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary (hooray!). So for the few days surrounding it we ate a lot and watched movies together (COVID anniversary at it’s finest). By the end of day 3 I was getting tired of eating junk and ready to move on to real food. But then my sweet, loving husband offered to go grab me a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream... 

Even though I knew my body did not need (or even want) that pint, I said yes. Because it was easy and “fun”, right? And how could I say no to the chunky, creamy goodness of Tonight Show Dough???

There is nothing wrong with staying in bed, just like there is nothing wrong with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s every now and then. But when sleeping in becomes the norm, or when it becomes your excuse for watching another episode of Grey’s Anatomy, it starts to creep into the lazy/bad choices category. And eventually it becomes a habit. 

Just like it is a habit for me to say “yes!” any time I am offered a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Even if I know I won’t actually truly enjoy that pint. 

So while there are good reasons to stay in bed, you have to be careful to not let sleeping in until the kids wake up become a habit.

 Here are 4 bad reasons to skip your early morning routine. 

• You stayed up late binging-watching your favorite show
• It’s cold outside (I know, I know...those warm covers are so tempting!)
• You saw a new notification on your phone when you got up to go to the bathroom at 2 AM and then stayed up for hours scrolling through Instagram and reading People Magazine articles. 
• You just couldn’t put that book down....

Unless, of course, you deliberately decide one of those things is worth a skipped morning routine. Then go for it! Hunker down with Netflix all night long, mama. 

It All Comes Down To This

I like black and white. Figuratively and literally - in fact right now I am anxiously waiting to hear the crunch of gravel under the FedEx truck as it delivers a new black and white rug I just ordered. Black and white are comforting to me. I know exactly what they are supposed to be. There is no ambiguity. My eyes aren’t trying to decide if the shade is more green or blue or if the hushed tones of red make it look more pink. Black and white are what they are. No explanation, no extra analyzing necessary. 

I like life to be black and white, as well. I like rules. I like to know what is expected. It is comforting to follow a path. And so trust me when I say I wish I could give you a quick formula that you can go by to help you decide if you should stay in bed or wake up early.

But I can’t. 

Because it all comes down to knowing who you are, understanding your body, taking stock of your circumstances - and being honest about it.

Consistently is key when it comes to having an early morning routine. But consistency isn’t everything. Because life as mamas is not consistent. And when life goes swirvy on us (like when. your toddler throws up 3 times in one night), you have to swerve with the curves. 

If you need to, stay in bed

Your time in the Word, working on a hobby, moving your body, and pursuing growth are so important - but so is sleep. Sometimes your tired mama eyes just need to be closed a little longer. And that is OK. 

I’m rooting for you!