Hey there, beautiful mama!

If you were to ask any of my friends how much I use to sleep before kids came along – they would laugh. I slept A LOT (10 hours a night)! After kids? Not so much! But it’s no surprise. We live in a world that has forgotten how to rest!

So over the last several months I have made it my mission to improve my sleep & I am happy to say ~ it worked! I get 8 solid hours a night and I owe it to these 5 things:

1. Limiting technology before bed:

Just like a computer needs to wind down, the brain needs to wind down too. Our brains are processing way more information than a generation ago. With the constant flow of emails, texts and social media hype, our minds get put into overdrive. So avoiding any work, cell and/or computer usage 2-3 hours before bed will help tremendously. Tip: You may want to put your phone on airplane mode and keep it in another room to avoid any temptation 🙂

2. A Dark Room:

Any bit of light suppresses melatonin (& high levels of melatonin is needed with “deep quality” sleep). So you’re going to want your room dark! If there’s light streaming in from your shutters, you may want to invest in dark curtains. Or to make things simple, you can throw on a sleep mask!

3. Fasting:

So if your bedtime is at 10pm, stop eating by 7pm so your body has the 2-3 hours it needs to digest its food before lying down. This may sound tough if you are use to snacking. In which case, if absolutely needed – grab something super light (with no sugar), like a small handful of nuts.

4. Relaxation:

There’s nothing more relaxing than taking a hot bath before bed, in my opinion. This helps to unwind after a busy day & lowers the stress hormone cortisol. But if baths are not your thing, maybe taking a walk in nature or doing a gentle yoga class is? Choose what feels good to you.

5. 10pm Bedtime:

The key here is to be “lying down horizontally before 10pm because you get a 2nd wind at 10pm,” says Joshua Rosenthal at The Institute of Integrative Nutrition. This has been HUGE for me. If you’re normally a night person, getting into the habit of going to bed earlier – will help your body rebalance itself.

I realize life gets busy and implementing all of these at the same time may be tough. But if you can slowly work your way up so that you’re hitting each one of these, that’s something to celebrate! Try keeping a journal to track your progress with how you’re feeling. Slowly but surely if you keep at it, your sleep will improve and you’ll be feeling like your previous well rested self!

Would love to hear how some of these are working for you OR if you have any other ones that have worked, please share them below 🙂

To health & happiness,,

Deborah Xo

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