Healthy rhythms at home: Sleep, nutrition and family mealtimes

Building healthy habits throughout the day is the start to building and maintaining a healthy life. Two ways we can build healthy habits is to create routines that support our sleep and nutrition. 

Nutrition

Eating regularly can be one healthy routine to incorporate nutrition into your day. From breakfast to dinner and including all the snacks in-between, eating on a schedule can be a helpful way to support your nutrition goals. Eating regular, consistent meals/snacks can support stable energy levels throughout the day while also supporting digestion and providing important ways to get in necessary nutrients. Each daily meal provides an opportunity to nourish the body for different aspects of your daily routine. One example of this is breakfast. Breaking your overnight fast with a regular morning breakfast can support necessary fuel for your day, reduce morning cortisol levels and provide a vital way to get in needed fiber/nutrients for your day. Eating consistently throughout your day can be one way to get in all your nutrition, while showing yourself and your family some self-care. 

To learn more about the benefits to regular eating, check out Reasons for Eating Regularly (PDF).

Family Mealtimes

Similar to the benefits of regular eating, regular family mealtimes can be an important healthy routine to build into your day. Family meals can be a way to support family connections, while fostering emotional, mental, and physical health for all. These regular opportunities to check-in together strengthen family bonds and improve mental health. Family meals also provide developmental benefits for children, while offering chances for caregivers to role model healthy eating patterns, leading to improved physical health outcomes. Decades of research have shown the benefits to why family meals can be an important part of your daily routine. That said, schedules seem busier than ever before and getting everyone together for a family meal can sometimes be challenging. 

With busy schedules, families often ask, how often should we eat meals together? Simply put, as frequently as possible. However, please note that the meals you eat together do not have to be dinner, if that does not fit into your schedules! Eating breakfast or lunch together can be other mealtimes to enjoy together as a family. Additionally, meals including only some members of the family together can be just as beneficial as having the entire family together. Start small and work your way up, if possible. Aim for 3-4 family meals during the week and once that becomes a routine, see if there are opportunities for more! 

Here are some tips on how to incorporate more family meals: See our previous article on Making Family Mealtime a Reality.

For more information on the benefits of family meals, check out: the article from healthy children.org on the Benefits of Family Meals: Eat Together, Thrive Together.

Sleep

Did you know that National Sleep Awareness Week is March 8-14 in 2026? Part of a healthy routine is to create habits for preparing for sleep. As you use your sleep routine, you are signaling to your body that it is time for rest, and over time your body will start to calm down and get ready for sleep as you begin your routine. A sleep routine is also something you can build as a family; you can all do one or more part of the routine together!

Every person and family will be different in how they like to build their sleep routine. It’s important to not include activities that will be stimulating or stressful, and to try to do the routine around the same time every night. Some ideas for sleep routines could be turning down lights to a softer setting, taking a relaxing bath or shower, reading a book, brushing teeth, doing some gentle stretches or deep breathing, or listening to a guided mediation or sleep story. You can even start the routine earlier; maybe it starts at dinner time, or limiting TV before you begin your sleep routine. It’s important to build a routine that works for your family to help you stay consistent. 

Check out these resources!

Have the whole family do some gentle yoga poses with this read-a-long of “Good Night Yoga”. The video includes a bonus guided mediation at the end. 

Check out this article for tips on creating “sleep sanctuaries” and spaces that promote sleep, such as avoid electronics too close to bedtime and having a cool, dark room: Sleep hygiene: Simple practices for better rest, from Harvard Health Publishing.

Find more sleep resources from the National Sleep Foundation.

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