Welcome to the #HappyMom challenge. For more information on the challenge, click here.

This is the flip side to yesterday’s challenge of starting the day before the kids wake up.

Today’s challenge is to give yourself permission to go to bed early. And I don’t mean like 11 p.m. early. I mean like put-the-kids-to-bed-and-then-get-your-butt-in-the-bed-too.

I’ve talked to soooo many moms and they admit that they cherish the time they have to themselves after the kids go to bed, staying up until midnight, 1 a.m. I’m guilty of it too. Then we wake up and wonder why we’re so tired.

Glamour and the Huffington Post have come up with a sleep challenge, to get women to get that bed and stay in it for at least 7 hours a night, or however many hours you need to feel your best. Check out the latest blog post from Glamour’s editor-in-chief on cutting down your to-do list in order to make more time to sleep.

So for my Happy Mom challenge, do this for me: Whatever time you usually go to bed, go to bed one hour earlier. Let’s just move in baby steps here.

Now, I understand that if you followed my advice and are getting up one hour earlier, then you’re just shifting what time you get out of bed, not really gaining any hours of sleep. BUT! My point is that we shouldn’t do both - we can’t stay up all hours of the day and night and then get up early and operate at our full potential.

Point blank: We need to do this. We NEED to get our rest. I’m so guilty of this. I get about 5 hours of sleep each night (if I’m lucky) and I usually don’t fall asleep - I pass out. It’s a bad habit.

Let’s all give ourselves permission to go to bed early. I’m talking like 8 p.m. Hell, 7:45 if you can swing it. What’s the worst that can happen if you go to bed early one night?

Leave me a comment letting me know what time you usually go to bed. I’m calling you out!