The benefits of consistently good sleep for busy moms are hard to dismiss. Not only does sufficient sleep help to improve your mood, reduce your stress, and help you maintain your girlish figure, it can also improve productivity at work, boost immunity, and reduce your risk for developing serious health conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Perhaps most importantly, getting good sleep means you have the energy in the morning to keep up with the many demands a mom’s life delivers daily.
So, how do you find the mystical promised land of a good night’s sleep? Unfortunately, it’s not a one-stop shop. However, the following things can work together to help you get great sleep night after night.
Choose a Natural Mattress
When you make the switch to a natural mattress, you’re giving yourself one of the greatest gifts available. Natural mattresses offer many benefits for your home, your health, your comfort, and the overall quality of your sleep.
One of the more important benefits of choosing natural mattresses for your home involves VOCs (volatile organic compounds).
These compounds are common in synthetic mattresses and, once released into the air in your home, via the off-gassing process, can create noxious odors that cause headaches, dizziness, respiratory problems, and more.
The problem is the VOCs don’t go away once the odor dissipates. They remain in your home contributing to poorer health and sleep for everyone.
Going natural helps to eliminate these VOCs from your home and deliver more peaceful sleep for everyone.
Keep a Set Sleep Schedule and Routine
While it may be tempting to stay up late and sleep in on your days off (as if moms really get those anyway), it can be completely disruptive to your normal sleep routine to do so.
Maintaining a consistent schedule and bedtime routine is good for you and your family. Just as you work to keep a solid routine with your children to avoid unpleasant experiences for everyone, it is equally important to maintain this consistency for yourself as well.
A good “wind-down” routine may look something like this:
One hour before your desired bedtime you begin your routine that may include any or all of the following:
- Relaxing bath or shower.
- Face cleansing/makeup removing.
- Relaxing non-caffeinated warm tea drink.
- Brushing your teeth.
- 20 minutes of reading in low light (no brightly lit screens).
- Turning in for the night.
What you don’t want to do during this critical time is give your brain an excuse to wake up and wander. You want calm, soothing, activities.
If the news upsets you, make sure you’re reading something that isn’t news. If you can’t put a book down until you finish, consider reading a short story instead.
Don’t engage in rigorous exercise or a cold shower that can keep you up for hours instead.
Consider Soothing Natural Aromas to Encourage Sleep
Essential oils and live plants with soothing fragrances can be instrumental triggers for your brain that now is a time to begin shutting down so that sleep comes quickly.
Fragrances like chamomile, lavender, bergamot, sweet marjoram, and ylang-ylang are great options to consider when it comes to essential oils and aromatherapy.
For those considering plants to bring into the bedroom to promote better sleep, there are a few that just might do the trick. They include:
- Jasmine
- Valerian
- Lavender
- Aloe Vera
- Peace Lily
Some recommend snake plants in the bedroom for soothing sleep, though other moms might argue (and some of us would agree) that a plant with the word snake in the name is enough to keep them up at night. Choose wisely.
Consider Naps
Just as naps offer precious time for your little ones to rest and recharge their batteries throughout the day, they do the same for mom.
While you may not be able to take long naps while your little ones are young, a quick cat nap of 30 minutes can be incredibly refreshing, providing the refreshing presence of mind to take care of your super long “to do” list before the day is done.
Every little bit of sleep can help, and naps are excellent tools to supplement a poor night’s sleep when needed.
How Much Sleep is Enough?
Fortunately, adults need less sleep than children and even teens require. This means you can get a few more things done in your day once the little ones are down for the count without giving up on essential sleep for yourself.
The average adult can thrive on seven or more hours of daily sleep. However, some people need more than others.
It’s important to listen to your own body to determine how much sleep is enough for you. If you’re not getting enough daily sleep, try the steps above to improve your daily sleep numbers.
