4 Tips for Getting Better Sleep

Most people don’t realize how busy a mother can be as she juggles her responsibilities, her home life, and the needs of her kids every single day. Just keeping up with such a busy schedule requires a lot of energy, so nothing is as important as ensuring you’re getting the proper amount of sleep to keep your mind sharp and your body well energized. To help you get that deep, satisfying rest, we’ve compiled some tips for getting better sleep.

Optimize Your Sleep Schedule

Add a specific bedtime and wake-up time to your schedule to ensure you’re not only budgeting enough time for sleep but also consistently going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. This will put your body on a schedule so that you feel energized and awake during the day and appropriately sleepy when your body expects to be going to bed.

To achieve this schedule, you must be mindful of two factors. First, if you do find yourself with downtime, avoid napping. It’ll give you a burst of energy for the rest of the day, but it will make sleeping at night more difficult by gradually adjusting your body to sleep during the day. Similarly, gradually adjust your schedule to your desired bedtime and wake-up time for the best results. Change your sleep schedule by an hour or two at the most as you work toward your goal.

Create a Pre-Bedtime Routine

To get the best possible sleep at night, you need to give your body a chance to relax and shift gears from being active. When you’re getting ready for sleep, dim the lights and do something calming for about half an hour. Make some tea, read a book, and give yourself a bit of time to decompress. This will get you in the right frame of mind for sleep as the stresses of the day melt away.

Engage in Physical Activity

If you find your busy schedule keeps you sedentary, sleeping at night can be difficult because your body never gets the chance to really expend energy. Exercise has been shown to help with sleep, but we understand it can be hard for a busy mother to fit exercise into her day. Thus, the best exercises for you to do at home are cardio workouts, as they’re accessible to anyone and require no more than 30 minutes for an effective workout.

Combat Restless Nights

If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, the best tip for getting better sleep is to get up and out of bed. It’ll separate feelings of discomfort and frustration from your bed and make it more comfortable when you do finally return. Spend 20 minutes in low, relaxing light doing something you enjoy, such as reading, to take your mind off sleep, and try again when you’ve relaxed.