The irony is not lost on me that as I write this post, it is 25 minutes past my "bedtime" on a work night. Ugh. We have been away for the past week and I am playing catch up!
Sleep is super important to your overall health. Your body heals and does important work while you sleep. The recommended amount is 7-9 hours for women. I am happy to say that I usually meet that target, although that there are definitely nights when I don't! When you have young children, sleep can be interrupted. I am okay with that. Babies grow up and stop needing midnight cuddles. I am going to enjoy the cuddles while I can!
I try to stick to the same bedtime every night and I try to wake up around the same time every morning. I do have a toddler who helps with the wake up call if I want to sleep in! I usually go to bed at 11 p.m. and I wake up around 6 a.m. on a work day. On my days off, I will sleep until 7 a.m.. Sticking to consistent bedtimes and wake up times helps your body find a routine, which can make it easier to sleep.
Before I go to bed I try to get my stuff in order for the next day (especially if I have work the next morning). I have a bath or shower. I pray and sometimes write in my prayer journal. I then go to sleep. My bedtime routine helps to relax me and get me ready for bed.
I struggle to get enough sleep every single night of the week. I can usually do it 4-5 nights out of my week. The nights that I don't get sleep are often because Miss. E is having a bad night, or I am getting things ready so that we can sell the house. Life is fluid and we can't always prevent every interruption. My best advice is to make sleep a priority. Try your best to set a bedtime and stick to it. Make a goal to get enough sleep 3 nights a week and then increase that to 4. Slowly work your way up to a consistent bedtime.
Do you have any tips that help you get enough sleep? I would love to hear them!
Children definitely make it harder to sleep! But the trade off is worth it. :) I agree that a consistent bedtime helps you get into a good sleep pattern and sleep better at night. The hardest thing for me is turning my brain off at night. I have learned that I have to write down everything in my head and then deliberately turn my thoughts off!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea. I keep paper by my bed, as well. I always seem to think of things to add to my to do list before I fall asleep!
DeleteI really need to work on getting more sleep. I always stay up too late and end up exhausted.
ReplyDeleteDella
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It is an easy thing to skip out on, but it is so important to our health. I hope that you are able to get more sleep, soon!
DeleteI've struggled with insomnia for years, so I've read a lot of books on the subject. One of the recommendations that really helped me was to remove electronics from the bedroom (or to at least have them 3 feet away from the bed) - TVs, cell phones, computers. And it really works. I sleep much better when all of those things are removed!
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent point. We have no screens in our bedroom. It helps to ensure uninterrupted sleep! I also struggled with insomnia for some time (mine was largely stress induced). Hypnosis actually worked for me. It is just a method of deep relaxation and I was able to use it (with the help of a guided meditation) to help me fall asleep quickly!
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