When we look at the other mothers around us, we often wonder why they seem to do it so much better than we do. Our neighbor’s house is always spotless, even though she holds down a full-time job, and she never seems to shout at her kids. And she always looks good and hasn’t put on any extra weight, losing every pound after the birth of her last baby. So how come she can do it so well and we can’t?
Believe it or not, your friend or neighbor is probably using a very simple, secret ingredient that many of us don’t even think about. She is getting enough sleep.
Getting enough sleep is crucial to our effective functioning during the day, yet so many of us don’t sleep enough. Sleep deprivation, on the other hand, is a major cause of rates of low productivity at work, poor concentration, and can ultimately lead to various health problems. Yet even though this problem sounds so simple to remedy, many of us prefer to combat our tiredness by drinking caffeinated drinks and pushing ourselves throughout the day.
So how can we increase this magical ingredient, sleep, in our lives?
For many of us, simply going to bed earlier doesn’t work. With the advent of the Internet, many mothers working from home work at night, and those who work in offices may come home so late in the evening that they need time to do their chores and spend time with their partners and families before turning in. And by the time they’ve done that, it’s late.
And even when it is time for bed, we are so full of adrenaline and caffeine that we can’t fall asleep.
Here are some tips for those who find that they can’t fall asleep straight away:
- Make your bedroom a soft, relaxing place. Keep the TV and computer out of there. Put down a soft area rug – a wool flokati rug will do to add to the atmosphere of sleepiness and warmth. Use soft, warm bedding.
- Set up a night light and put that on at night rather than the regular light. The soft, dim light will make you feel sleepy.
- Find a good book to read, preferably not too exciting, and hopefully you will doze off while you read.
- Try a relaxing, warm bath, with your favorite bath oil or soap. Then treat yourself to some silky body lotion. Afterwards, you will feel so relaxed you may just fall asleep straight away.
- Provided it doesn’t disturb your partner, play some soft music as you try to doze off. And if it does bother him, wear earphones (though you will need to remember to remove them just before you fall asleep).
- Try a drink of hot milk, or a relaxing herbal tea, such as chamomile. This should help your body to relax.
If you have a young baby who keeps you up at night, trying getting at least one or two naps during the day along with your little one.
After several weeks of sleeping enough and properly, you will soon feel the difference, and maybe your friends will start envying you rather than the other way round!
