I love sleep.

I *day dream* about sleep. One of my favorite fantasies is that I have checked into a super fancy hotel and handed a bathrobe and fuzzy slippers (super clean and bright white) and I’m told that I can’t emerge until I feel “fully rested.”

I’m 44 and have three children, and even though my oldest is 19 — this probably isn’t something that I’m going to let myself experience in “real life” because of two things:

1. I’m frugal and could probably find a better use for that money. Like shoveling it into an IRA or something terribly responsible
2. I’d feel bummed for having fun all by myself and after a few hours wish that the rest of the family was with me (see: mom guilt. which is a whole another thing I should write about one of these days!)

In the How to Live Slowly book along with the 2 4 6 EAT book, I talk about how I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a few years ago.

Ever since I figured out that I have apnea, I have jumped through hoops and rearranged schedules and moved mountains and given out empty threats so I can get the sleep that my body desperately craves.

I look at Sleep as my Sport.

I take it super seriously.

If you *aren’t* prioritizing sleep for yourself, and you feel tired and run down and worn out, then my nudge for you today is to start.

No massive overhauls needed — just start making tiny steps in the right direction.

I have a BUNCH of things that I do to help in the sleep department — you do not need to all of them, or even ANY of them — you get to pick and choose what makes sense for you and your own life.

How to Get Really Good Sleep, when you’re a mom

First off:

Track your cycles and pay attention to your hormones. It doesn’t sound fun, but it’s necessary. I like the Hormone Horoscope App, which is free — but your sleep around ovulation will get messed up. Because of this, you should try your hardest to limit sugar, lay off of alcohol, and don’t watch super scary things (including the news!)
I write about tracking hormones in all of my books (well, not the crockpot ones, because that would be weird) — and I have it an integral part of the daily writing in 30 Days to a New You.

Create a nice sleep space for yourself. If your bedroom is a mess, tidy it up. Do some PROMing or follow what is outlined in the Clean Less, Play More book. Clutter creates noise in your brain and makes you feel anxious and uneasy — none of that is good for inducing sleep.

If you need to, invest in some black out curtains, and maybe a noise maker. Or use an air purifier for some white noise and also to help clear out dust and allergens.

(and yes, I’m a weirdo and use BOTH at the same time).

If you don’t take Vitamin D in the morning and then Magnesium at night, you should. I’m not a doctor so I’m not going to tell you why — if you are reading this, you are internet savvy and can look up the studies yourself. But from my rudimentary research, it looks like most humans are “low” on both of those things, and if they are in check, you will feel better and sleep better.

and that is what I want for you!

🙂

Go to bed when you are drowsy but not super duper falling over tired.

Because I wake up at 4 or 5 am each day (again, this is ME. You do YOU!) — I go upstairs around 8:30 pm and then am probably fully asleep by 9:30 pm

I leave the phone AWAY from the bedside. If you use your phone as your alarm, put it on the otherside of the room, facedown. Keep the blue light and the weird techy waves and vibes (or whatever — I don’t understand how cell phones work, I just know that I sleep better when they are far away from my brain) far away from you when you are sleeping.

also, this way you will need to jump out of bed in the morning to turn off the alarm, which is also best for maintaining a morning routine where you don’t consistently hit the “snooze” button….

Sleep is Necessary for Mental, Physical, and Emotional Health

 and that is pretty much it!

I do have a history of having twitchy legs and achy joints, but the Intermittent Fasting has really helped with that — I only get that now if I don’t exercise for over a week in a row, or if I have way too much sugar (read: pint of Chunky Monkey because it is awesome and I love it and sometime I really really need it….) before bed.

FUN STUFF:

this isn’t necessary, but I do like relaxing on a Spoonk before bed for about 15 – 20 minutes, and since I started standing on a Vibration Plate downstairs while watching the last show of the night, I have found my sleep to improve.

I hope this helps a bit!

are you needing a bit of help “in the mindset department”? If you feel like you’re in a funk and you aren’t exactly sure why, sign up for a free Mindset Upgrade coaching call. I LOVE these calls — I only do a few a week, and it’s so lovely getting to know real people and I really like supporting my readers as much as I can. xoxo steph