In the world of "duh, of course!" there's research out of Australia [1] that proves putting your kids to bed on the early side is beneficial for Mom's mental health. Kids' bedtimes are always a hotly debated topic [2] among parents, but doctors and teachers have always advocated earlier bedtimes to help with kids' awareness in school.

But the new study, the largest of its kind, surveyed 3,600 Australian children at three different times throughout their first nine years of life. It found that kids who were asleep by 8:30 at night had "better health-related quality of life." But more importantly — at least to us — it showed that their mothers "have improved mental health, compared with to the mothers of children who are late-to-sleep, because they get a little more 'me' time for their own interests, relationships, and projects."

It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? The earlier the kids go to bed, the more time we have for ourselves — more of our own TV time, more time to read nonhomework books, and more time to have adult conversations and activities. We're already counting down the hours to our kids' new bedtimes!