Elizabeth Banks says she doesn't get much sleep as a working mom
The 51-year-old actress has sons Felix, 14, as well as 12-year-old Magnus with her husband Max Handelman, and while she loves to lie in bed as long as possible, it's sometimes impossible because of her children's schedule and she often resorts to going to sleep before them just to get enough rest.
She told PEOPLE: "I'll go to bed late if I can sleep in. But how often does a working mom get to sleep in? Sleep has become a determinant of so much of my daily life. My mood is improved, my ability to work is improved, my focus is improved if I have a good night's sleep. What that means to me is seven to eight hours minimum. I'm sort of at the mercy of my kids' schedule. If I'm going to get up with the kids and have that quality time with them in the morning, which I do love, then I have to go to bed earlier. There are nights where I'm in bed before my kids—'Good night. I'm done parenting!' I want to be in bed by 10 at the latest because I wake up at six to six-thirty."
In the event that she struggles to fall asleep, the 'Better Sister' star turns to an audiobook and will often end up listening again in the morning so she can understand the content of the work if it has done the trick in sending her off for the night.
She said: "If I'm feeling like it's hard to fall asleep, I'll listen to an audiobook. I absolutely love 'My Name is Barbra', the Barbra Streisand book, and it's almost 50 hours long. I loved listening to that. But don't want to imply that she "puts me to sleep"! She does not. I'll go back and re-listen in the morning. But just the vibe of somebody talking to me, telling me a story. It's like you're a child again."
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