Emy

How to get BETTER SLEEP for busy moms? Essential Tips for restful nights

How to get sleep for moms is the most searchable questions for moms. Getting some restful nights as a NEW mom sounds like a mission impossible. Whether you are a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. The challenge is real. The stress is high and the exhaustion even higher. Because you don’t know what to expect.

Motherhood experience early stages like no other. NOTHING! Literally, nothing can prepare you for the amount of sleep you would lose.

The Motherhood journey needs patience and efficiency to multitask. To be able to do that, you need PLENTY of rest. But that is easier said than done. I have been there, and I heard a lot of “Sleep when you can”.

How to get better sleep as a busy mom?

Quality sleep is crucial for your physical and mental well-being as a new mom, said millions of mothers and experts all over the world.

In this blog post, we will explore essential tips to help busy moms get better sleep, including affordable ways to wind down and relax. Strategies to maximize relaxation during your baby’s naps. Techniques to help you sleep deeper and faster. Don’t forget to download our complimentary self-care checklist to enhance your sleep routine!

1. Winding Down and Relaxing.

A relaxed mother creates a relaxed baby. However, if the mother is not relaxed due to so many obvious reasons. Consequently, that would lead to many unhealthy outcomes, and it would reflect on your baby’s behavior.

How to create a relaxing environment to get better sleep?

A. Establish a Bedtime Routine:

Creating a consistent routine for you and your baby would help your brain to send signals to your body that it’s time to unwind. Moreover, that would help your baby to sleep longer.
How to do that? Take a warm bath. Consider showering with your baby. Touching your baby’s skin will increase happy and relaxing hormones like Oxytocin and serotonin. It would also be a bonding session. Listen to calming music while dressing your baby. Read some cute stories, or practice gentle stretching exercises.

B. Create a Soothing Environment:

Dim the lights or use a night light to create a calming atmosphere.
Invest in soft, comfortable bedding and pillows for a cozy sleep experience. Also, consider some quality organic cotton pajamas, and under ware.
Utilize room-darkening curtains or a sleep mask to block out excess light.
Consider getting an air purifier if you live in a polluted town or a hot weather environment. However, check with your doctor first.

C. Affordable Ways to Relax:

Practice deep breathing exercises to promote relaxation. Studies have proved that breathing exercises send signals to the brain to feel happier.
Engage in meditation or mindfulness techniques to clear your mind. Hop on YouTube for some guided meditation if you don’t know how to do that.
Use aromatherapy with essential oils like lavender or chamomile for a soothing ambiance. I would check with my midwife or my baby’s doctor first.
Enjoy a cup of Turmeric Latte or herbal tea, such as chamomile or valerian roots known for their calming properties. I love drinking the Pukka nighttime edition as it relaxes me and makes it easy to go down fast.

2. Maximizing Relaxation During Baby’s Naps:

A. Prioritize Self-Care:

Use your baby’s naptime as an opportunity for self-care. Forget about tidying and cleaning during that time. I would prioritize sleep more than anything else.
Examples: Take a short nap, read a book, enjoy a warm cup of tea, or engage in a hobby you love. If self-care for you means curling up on your sofa with a cozy blanket and watching your favorite show, then that’s exactly what you need to do.
Prioritizing self-care means taking care of your mental health which is critical to be able to look after your baby.

B. Practice Power Napping:

Aim for short naps (15-20 minutes) during the day to recharge. Personally speaking, I don’t know how to do that. I envy people who can power nap and get up feeling and looking refreshed. For me, I would need at least an hour to be able to go to sleep.
Set an alarm to prevent oversleeping and disrupting your nighttime sleep schedule. Consider Co-sleeping during nap time and snuggle up with your baby to enjoy an afternoon nap together.

C. Utilize White Noise or Relaxing Sounds:

Use a white noise machine or smartphone app to create a soothing ambiance. If you share a room with your baby, then that’s bingo! Studies show that sharing your room with your baby during the first year increases the bond and sync the baby’s biological clock to yours.
Explore calming sounds like ocean waves, rainforests, or gentle lullabies. Use some apps like Calm, and Meditation for some relaxing techniques.

Busy moms techniques to rest better, sleep faster and deeper

3. Techniques for Deeper and Faster Sleep:

A. Maintain a Consistent Sleep Schedule:

Establish regular sleep and wake times to regulate your body’s internal clock. Going to bed at the same hour every day makes it easy for your body to rest better.
Aim for 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep whenever possible.
Get some vitamins D
Circulate the air inside your bedroom and let fresh air in.
10 minutes stretching is sometimes all you need with your baby

B. Create a Sleep-Friendly Bedroom:

Keep the bedroom cool, quiet, and comfortable. Declutter your room and get rid of the TV and other distractions.
Invest in a supportive mattress and consider using a pregnancy pillow for added comfort. I pretty much continued using my pregnancy pillow till five weeks postpartum. I wasn’t comfortable yet after my surgery. Until my daughter was seven months, I was not able to sleep on my stomach or back.
Add plants to your bedroom for better sleep

C. Practice Relaxation Techniques:

Progressive muscle relaxation: Tense and relax each muscle group to release tension.
Guided imagery: Imagine a peaceful scene to help calm your mind and promote relaxation.

D. Limit Exposure to Screens Before Bed:

Avoid using electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) at least an hour before bed. If you have to do that, you should pay EXTRA attention to what you see right before you close your eyes.
Blue light emitted by screens can disrupt your sleep cycle, making it harder to fall asleep.

E. Changing your diet:

Add more vegetables and fruits to your diet impacts the quality of your sleep. By eating healthy you not only improve your gut health but also improves the quality of sleep you get and the time your body spend to digest the food and the power used as well to rest other organs.
Healthy eating sets an example to your little one from a very young age. Offering a variety of food improves and expands the palate of your child and counts as an important sensory experience.

4. Counting your blessing:

A. Consider journaling.

Track your baby’s milestones send happy hormones to your brain and helps you sleep much better.

Treat yourself to a cute little book to count your blessings.
Make a DIY project when you have time and register your accomplishments.
Consider getting a whiteboard and writing down your to-do lists and scratching them down throughout the day. By doing that you keep yourself on track of what you have accomplished on your day and make you feel productive.
Instead of thinking about what you need to do the next day, fearing you might forget the next day. I know! Mama brain, we all have that. Record voice notes to yourself.

B. Use technology for your advantage

Make things easier to use and to decrease the time you spend on doing something.

Example: Download some apps like Notion where you can combine habit tracker, to-do lists, and some important notes.

5. Use your Family and friends. Yes! You read that right!

A. It’s all about giving you the maximum help needed to get back to yourself.

To get better sleep , you need to use everything and every help offered for you. Make your circle of friends as resourceful as possible. Ask your friends to come for a visit and tell them in advance that you will use the time they are around for yourself care.

Go for a nap, take a relaxing bath, or even a walk to destress while they look after the baby.
Ask your family members to tidy up and cook a meal for you.
Ask your best friend to take the baby for a walk while you catch up on a night of needed sleep.
Ask your friends to make some calls, or to do some groceries if you can’t do that.

How to optimize your special days to get better sleep, better rest and enhance selfcare?

B. On your special days.

On your birthday or Mother’s Day, instead of presents ask to be treated for a spa day or a massage session, some mani and pedi…etc.

Give your husband and friends some creative ideas to treat you if that lifts your spirit. Remember! Nobody can read your mind. So, show your family and friends how they can be helpful. Sometimes people think they are helping, whereas they are not.

C. Set boundaries and say NO!

New moms are very sensitive and afraid of judgment. I have been there. We worry about others’ perceptions of us. Our parenting techniques. Our methods of raising a baby with no prior experience. We worry when our kids throw tantrums or cry in public. We get stressed every time our kids scream at us while others look. Accordingly, we tend to do things beyond our abilities to please others.

Politely decline some invitations if they don’t serve your mental health.
Say no, thanks to unsolicited parenting advice if you are NOT comfortable listening.
Apologize for meeting your friends if you need the time to look after yourself and ways to recharge yourself.

Conclusion: As a new mom, restful nights are essential for your well-being. By implementing these tips, you can create a soothing sleep routine, maximize relaxation during your baby’s naps, and enhance the quality of your sleep. Remember, self-care plays a vital role in your overall sleep health. To help you stay on track, we have prepared a downloadable self-care checklist.

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