Meet Dr. Kristin Daley: Behavioral Sleep Expert & Clinical Health Psychologist
Hi friends! This is Kristin Mountcastle, founder of Growing Our Girls (GOG). Today’s blog is a fun interview (and a meeting of the Kristins) with our very first GOG Workshop speaker, Dr. Kristin Daley! She is one of the country’s leading experts in behavioral sleep and we’re so fortunate to have her right here in Charlotte. Even better, we’ll have the chance to meet her in person next month as she shares strategies around something that impacts us all: getting better sleep. Let’s jump right in!
Kristin M: Hi Dr. Daley! The GOG community is so excited to meet you – especially as we’re all adjusting to back-to-school routines and early mornings again. Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
Dr. Daley: Thanks for having me! Well to start, personally, I’m a mom of 3. I have a 19 year old son and daughters who are 16 and 14, so we’re in the throes of managing those teenage years, and starting to possibly see some light on the other side. I am married to a great guy named Jeff who is very different from me – we balance each other well. He has been more of a hands-on parent and it has been really great to watch how parenting helped both of us grow as individuals. In my free time, I love to work out, read, and spend time with my core group of close girlfriends.
Professionally, I’m a Clinical Health Psychologist and practice owner at BASE Cognitive Behavioral Therapy here in Charlotte, bridging the gap between mental and physical health. I work a lot with patients who have chronic health conditions or psychological conditions that have really strong mental health components. I’ve worked as a behavioral sleep specialist for almost 15 years and love what I do!
Kristin M: I’m sure your experience as a mom and psychologist is mutually helpful in both your personal and professional lives. What are some of the biggest sleep challenges you see in kids/teens that maybe you’ve also worked through as a mom?
Dr. Daley: When my kids were very little, they were rockstar sleepers. I always say to my clients that I follow all of my own rules, and I was incredibly structured about all things sleep as a parent. I even passed on a book on pediatric sleep to the grandparents to “help” them with my kids when they watched them – this makes me cringe a little now. It was not always smooth sailing, and each of them dealt with sleep struggles at different developmental stages. It is hard to try to stay in your lane as a parent when you also have a wealth of information about how to “fix” the problems your kids are experiencing. I distinctly remember one of mine yelling at me about this exact gap. She was struggling with nighttime anxiety and said, “You’re supposed to be the sleep expert. Why can’t you fix my sleep!?” We got through it, but anxiety and insomnia do not turn around in one night.
Kristin M: Thanks for sharing! I can imagine the struggles of trying to keep that balance as the expert AND the mom! Reflecting on your experience as both, what are your top back-to-school tips for parents and kids as they adjust to the new school year and earlier routines?
Dr. Daley: Number one, try to get into the routine a few weeks in advance, if you can. Our circadian rhythm takes about 7-10 days to adjust to a new time zone, so it is important to allow our kids to have the ability to adjust prior to having the added pressure of performing in school.
Number two, try to limit napping after school and sleeping in on weekends, especially during the first month of school. Naps will often really negatively affect nighttime sleep, so they usually stay off the table in my book. Some kids can tolerate sleeping in on weekends without it affecting their school week, but they will adjust fastest if their schedule is closer to what is expected of them during the week.
Lastly, get breakfast in them in the morning. Key waking cues are light, movement, and food, so we do our best if we get those cues in place.
Kristin M: Those are some great tips! Shifting gears to the moms, many members of our community are similar ages to you and your friends who are also going through the joys of perimenopause and menopause. Thankfully, the conversation around these changes has gotten louder within our society. Who knew sleep was so severely impacted?! Can you give us a sneak peek into some insights or tips you might share for moms during the GOG workshop on 9/6?
Dr. Daley: Hormonal changes cause core body temperature fluctuations, which are the biggest culprit to sleep challenges associated with menopause and perimenopause. The best gift you can give yourself is a cool sleeping environment, aiming for a temperature of 65-67 degrees. My family fought me on this one for a long time, but I finally put my foot down when I was constantly waking up hot in the middle of the night. My 16 year old can get distressed by how cold the house is at night, but she can put on more clothes whereas I can’t sleep through the night when it is too warm. I have even thought about putting a lockbox around the thermostat to keep it safe! We also have multiple studies that demonstrate that hormone replacement is not something to delay if you don’t have to – it can make a huge difference in our quality of life.
Kristin M: I love that we now have a doctor’s permission to keep the thermostat around 65-67 at night! It really does make such a difference. Thank you so much for your time today, Dr. Daley! Your experience is fascinating and expertise on sleep is something many of us have been missing in our lives as moms and as women. We can’t wait to introduce you to our Charlotte community in just a couple of weeks!
Thanks for following along and getting better acquainted with Dr. Kristin Daley. Don’t miss your chance to personally meet her along with other GOG moms on Friday, September 6 from 10-11:30am at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. Workshop tickets are going fast and seats are limited. Purchase your tickets here and get some free GOG swag too! We hope to see you there!