When Betsy Singleton Snyder had her first child, she consulted with a nanny who provided sleep training to help Snyder get her son sleeping through the night, a game changer for an exhausted mom.

When you become a parent, sleep is precious. It is better than a luxurious bath or massage. A deep, good night’s sleep is more prized than time to read a novel, and, as much as I love reading, that is hard for me to admit.

Sleep is better than a soothing hot tub and glass of wine, which you probably shouldn’t drink if you haven’t slept. Sleep is more than a mere escape. Sleep is another kind of workout the body needs. It is vitamins. It is good food. It is water. It is air.

Recently, my husband and I were discussing sleep. Actually, you might say we were riffing about our philosophy of sleep. His was shaped as a medical resident. In those days, he might have a 36-hour shift. At the time, he found himself occasionally feeling blue. He eventually learned to count how many hours sleep he’d had over the shift, and soon he realized that the less sleep he’d had was directly related to feeling depressed. The remedy: sleep.

Over the years, I’ve learned this to be true about myself too. When my firstborn came along, I made it my goal to have him sleeping through the night before I returned to work two-and-a-half months after he was born. This goal was especially important since his dad worked in Washington, D.C. three to four nights a week.

Only weeks old, our newborn had taken charge of my life. I walked around my house at night with him in tow, lights on, TV on, nursing him, changing him and getting more and more exhausted. At times, during the day, he’d wow me with a four-hour nap. I got so much done—when I should have been sleeping.

As I began to get more tense and frazzled, I remembered a business card I’d picked up at a baby store: “Nanny for Newborns.” Specifically, I noticed “sleep training” listed as a service. I called the number on the card and asked for a sleep consult. Using the tips and the nanny’s experiences of working with newborns, we went through the paces of how to get a newborn to sleep.

The good news was I had a big baby. The bigger a baby, the more milk he holds, and the longer he can sleep through the night. In addition, the nanny taught me the tools found in the book, “The Happiest Baby on the Block.” She also directed me to wake up my baby through the day and feed him every three hours, then burp, then play, then sleep again. Within a week, he slept through the night.

When our triplets came along, my oldest was 2 1/2, and sleep meant sanity. Not only that, I had heart failure after their birth, was nursing and had looming depression. Lack of sleep intensified my feelings that life was suddenly out of control.

Here’s where my story is a parable for all parents: sometimes it’s not just sleep: it’s postpartum, it’s truly being sick, and one must make certain that it’s not more serious than being tired and rundown. Women, in particular, are good at ignoring our bodies, and championing our abilities to multitask. Whether you have babies, young children or teens, always put your oxygen mask on first.

As my preemies grew, it took longer for them to sleep through the night, but I still used the same sleep training and schedule. I also quit breastfeeding earlier. In addition, I needed physical exercise to better my physical and mental state. I walked a baby or two while volunteers helped with the others and later I used my standby elliptical as babies crawled around what had once been the garage. To be clear, I also had some much-needed therapy and an antidepressant.

Everyone is different. I’m one of those people who likes to go to bed late and to wake up early, yet the trick is balance, so I have to make choices. All parents must make choices about food, exercise, schedules, discipline, finances, technology, work and play, and the children need to see us make wise choices, which is also how we take care of ourselves, including getting rest and sleep. Now fluff that pillow, guys.

Betsy Singleton Snyder is a pastor, writer and blogger. She is the author of “Stepping on Cheerios: Finding God in the Chaos and Clutter of Life,” and blogs at WomenadeStand.com, a sassy and spiritual spot to dish on the tartest and sweetest pieces of life, stand up together, and reach out in love.

Betsy and her husband, Dr. Vic Snyder, who formerly served in the U.S. House of Representatives, live in Little Rock with their four sons.