and your kids have one, so why don't you? I LOVE Sleep! I have always been aware of how important sleep is. It could be the way I was brought up. Bed time was 8pm. Right up until Std.9! Then I think I started going to bed at 9pm on some nights. And I knew sleep is important because without enough sleep I might be grumpy in the morning. And that... ... was not a good thing to be in my dad's house! Moving into motherhood was a shock - as you can imagine - from at least 9 hours of guaranteed sleep to a broken 5 hours. It was a rude awakening! I actually remember hallucinating a couple of nights in from being home from the hospital with my first born. I remember this weird feeling that there were spiders just out of my sight, behind my shoulder while I breastfed my boy at 3am. Scary! But thankfully in the last year my sleep has returned to normal or as normal as it can be for a mom. And I aim to switch my light off at 9.30pm every night, Monday to Sunday. It's all about routine. We know how important routines are for our children but we don't do it for ourselves! Why? Let me know what stops you from getting to bed at the same time each night. Set a Bedtime Set yourself up to wake up rested and in a happy space. Because here' the thing - missing an hour of sleep each night can harm you. The very next day you'll experience less mental clarity. After a week, studies have shown, that processes associated with inflammation, immune response and stress are MORE active! And there could be increases in the genes associated with cancer and diabetes. The hour before or the 30 minutes before bedtime, turn off your cellphone, tablet, laptop. Because the light given off by these devices actually tells your brain that it is still daytime. It's called blue light and it affects your melatonin (sleep hormone) production. When you're not getting enough sleep - There are signs you an check off - * moodiness * cravings for sweets/ sugar, caffeine, carbs like cakes or muffins * wanting to go back to sleep as soon as you wake up * hitting the snooze button more than once! Sleeping late on the weekends might seem like the answer. Oh wait! We're moms, we don't often get to do that... Well anyway, there is mounting research that says that even after the morning lie in or long afternoon nap, concentration can still be impaired. And this is because our body clocks get messed up and disrupted. The long weekend sleeps put us out of kilter for hte week ahead. The best way to hand this is to have a set bed time and wake up time, Monday to Sunday. Just like our childdren. Maybe you need sleep training!!?? And what about those of us who go to bed and then wake up? And we toss & turn... ... you wont believe teh stuff that I think about at 3am in the morning! And finally we fall asleep, exhausted at 4.30am, only for the alarm clock or our children to wake us an hour later! Exercise during the day can help. Breathing helps too - in for 5 out for 6 Eating foods that help to increase sleep neurotransmitters may also help - bananas, cottage cheese, milk, chicken, turkey, eggs, red meats & almonds. All these foods contain the amino acid - tryptophan - which is needed to make serotonin. Serotonin is directly related to tryptophan intake. So when your feel-good-happy hormone, serotonin, is low then no doubt your tryptophan foods are low too. Bedtime smoothie - drink 30 minutes before bedtime
I also find that 10 drops of Rescue Remedy when I turn out my light for the night help and if I wake up during hte night, I take another 10 drops. Helps me to fall back to sleep. White noise can help you to sleep. I use an app called Sleep Bug which has a variety of calming music & noises from a Zen village to campfire sizzle and crackle to waves breaking on the shore. It's available on Google and iTunes. Both my boys fall asleep to music each night and if either of them wakes during the night when I leave their rooms I swithc hte music back on. ![]() The 30 Day Fit & Health Jump Start is your chance to focus on YOU, and discover real-life, easy-to-implement habits that you can put into place, while you quickly make progress towards your goals. Here's what we're covering during the 30 days...
The program is online so you can participate from anywhere in the world - Sydney, New York, Berlin or Lima! Grab a friend or two and join us. CLICK HERE for more details and to get started Much happiness, Lee P. S. What time do you go to bed? This is what one of my clients had to say - "Having worked with Lee I have learnt that having a good night's rest is important for my wellbeing." - Nicole A. - East London, South Africa Comments are closed.
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