Sleep is the Ultimate Form of Self-Care
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best ways to take care of yourself, but sleep can feel so elusive as a mom.
A lack of sleep is one of those things many women just accept as a part of motherhood.
Research suggests 80% of women accept daily sleepiness as a part of life and over half of women admit to sacrifice sleep when they are too busy with the demands of work and family.
This acceptance of poor sleep makes sense when you consider the intense lack of sleep that often comes with an infant (in the first year of your child’s life, parents lose the equivalent of 50 nights of sleep). It also makes sense considering the enormous load of household duties and childcare responsibilities that women take on.
But, Mamas, here’s the deal: when you accept a lack of sleep as a normal part of motherhood, your mind stops believing you have any ability to improve your sleep.
So, you just continue at the same pace, with the same habits and mentality, leaving you feeling exhausted and struggling to get through every day.
Lack of Sleep is a Major Stressor
If you were to write down a list of your current stressors, would “not getting enough sleep” be on it? It should be. Our bodies experience a lack of sleep as a major life stressor. When we don’t get enough sleep, the level of cortisol (the stress hormone) elevates in our bodies, making it even harder for us to get through a day.
Research also finds chemical responses in our bodies that create suppressed immune function and problems with memory, attention and concentration. Studies also show that losing sleep puts us at greater long-term risks for heart disease, Type II diabetes, infections and obesity.
Not getting enough sleep leads us to feel more irritable and quick to react and judge. When we lack sleep, our amygdala (the emotion center of our brain) is over 60% more reactive. Brain research shows the part of our brain that’s in charge of thinking, planning and organizing (our prefrontal cortex) loses connection with the emotional part of our brain (amygdala) when we lose sleep.
In other words, it’s much harder for us to tell ourselves to slow down and regulate our emotions when we are tired.
How Much Sleep Do I Really Need?
Recently, I asked the Mama Be community how much sleep most mamas are getting every night. The majority reported about 6-7 hours of sleep a night.
Sleep experts recommend 7 hours of sleep each night at the very least to maintain good health outcomes. If you sleep less than 7 hours, you’re more likely to feel more sleepy, forgetful, inattentive and slow in your processing.
And the effects are cumulative. Researchers found individuals who slept for 6 hours/night for 2 weeks showed cognitive deficits equivalent to those found in people who hadn’t slept AT ALL the previous night. Remember that each night you lose sleep contributes to your future well-being beyond the next day.
How Do I Sleep More as a Busy Mom?
I know I can talk all day about good sleep habits and negative health outcomes but that doesn’t change how busy and overly stretched you feel in your life.
You may be reading this blog, thinking “here we go again” and feeling frustrated because getting good sleep may feel out of control.
I’m here to first validate your experience - it is hard to get good sleep!
It IS hard to get good sleep when your baby wakes up 3 times a night OR your toddler cries in the middle of the night for a glass of water OR your school-age child crawls out of bed to sleep with you every night.
It IS hard to get good sleep when you are staying up late washing dishes, making tomorrow’s lunches, doing laundry, or just trying to relax by watching Netflix after getting the kids to bed.
IT IS HARD.
AND….
I’m here to encourage you to try to make just one change to your sleep habits in the next week.
If you are thinking to yourself, ‘the issue isn’t me, it’s my kids’… next week, we’ll talk how to change your child’s sleep habits. This week we are focusing on you, Mama.
Better Sleep for Mama Challenge
It’s easy to talk about sleep challenges (we all have lots of valid reasons we don’t get good sleep), and it’s another thing to make the step to make a change.
So- just start with one thing.
Pick one of these research-backed methods to focus on in the next week:
Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day
Create a soothing bedtime ritual for yourself (ideas: drink warm, non-caffeinated tea about an hour before bed, write in a journal, take a warm bath)
Diffuse or breathe in relaxing essential oils (*Serenity is my favorite; purchase information at end of post)
Don’t look at tv or phone in bed before going to sleep
Try a breathing exercise (breathe in for 4, hold for 6 and out for 8) to help you fall asleep
Once you pick the one thing you are going to change, it is time to commit to it and take action.
Create a daily alarm to remind you, write it down on a sticky note, post on the Mama Be: Self-Care for Moms Facebook page or tell your spouse to help hold you accountable.
If you are still hesitant to change your sleep habits, think of good sleep as important as your other daily non-negotiabless… like brushing your teeth, taking a shower or eating breakfast.
Commit to better sleep habits just as you commit to other activities in your daily routine.
See how it goes and let others in the Mama Be community know so we can support you in your efforts.
Change can be hard, but committing to baby steps can lead to real results.
With love,
Jessica
Serenity:
If you are interested in purchasing doTerra’s Serenity at a 25% discounted rate (& become a doTerra member) click here.
If you’d like to purchase Serenity retail (full price), click here.
Serenity is a doTerra essential oil blend comprised of Lavender Flower**, Cedarwood***, Ho Wood Leaf***, Ylang Ylang Flower**, Marjoram Leaf***, Roman Chamomile Flower**, Vetiver Root***, Vanilla Bean Absolute, and Hawaiian Sandalwood***.
**these essential oils have promote restful sleep and relaxation
***these essential oils promote improved health benefits