You’re exhausted, so this one’s short. Sleep expert Mollie Eastman breaks down the handful of things that actually help when you’re running on empty as a new parent: a nearly free trick for kids’ bedtime that works with their biology instead of against it, the two things quietly wrecking the sleep you do get, and a genuinely kind word for couples who’ve been short with each other lately.

The bedtime trick that costs nothing

Turn the lights down about an hour before bed and let your kids’ biology do the rest. Mollie explains that light and dark management beats almost any supplement or routine hack, because it works with how the body is already wired to wind down rather than fighting against a house that’s still bright and stimulating at bedtime.

The two things quietly wrecking your sleep

Beyond the baby waking you up, Mollie names two sleep killers most parents don’t think to address: alcohol and stress. A drink to wind down at the end of the day feels like it helps, but it degrades sleep quality even when it helps you fall asleep faster. Managing stress before bed matters just as much as anything you do to the room itself.

Grace for the sleep-deprived marriage

If you and your wife have been snapping at each other lately, Mollie offers a reframe worth holding onto:

“Sleep-deprived people are not their best selves, and that’s not a character flaw.”

Weathering this season with grace, for her and for yourself, is as much a part of the strategy as anything you change about the room or the routine.

Hear Mollie’s full conversation at frontrowdads.com/431. This is Part 4 of New Dad Week, five short episodes for expecting dads and dads in the first year. Grab the free field guide, with the main points from every episode plus prompts you can use, at frontrowdads.com/newdad.