Hands up if you long for some good quality sleep! Me, me, me! One of the main culprits of my sleep deprivation is my gorgeous sproggos. If I manage to get through the night without at least one of these padding along the corridor to visit me then it is a miracle. If I have one of them in my bed then I am guaranteed to have an awful sleep.
We all need a good sleep to be rested, energised and ready for the next day and it dawned on me fairly quickly that if my kids sleep well and in their own bed, then so do I …. result.
Just to warn you, this is not one of those blog posts that tells you how much sleep your child needs and why sleep is super important for them ….because we probably have a handle on that. This is a little post talking about some of the little hacks I have picked up along the way to help my kids and me actually get to sleep and hopefully sleep through the night ….. and all in our own bed. It is time to claim back some sleep.
Eating healthily
I noticed a big change in my kids sleep patterns when I started to reduce their sugar levels considerably. However, I also noticed that by including magnesium, potassium or mineral rich foods like fruit, veg and pulse foods into daily meals their quality of sleep improved. Magnesium is one of the minerals that gets depleted when we are tired and stressed and conversely it has been proven that if you are magnesium deficient you are more likely to not sleep well.
My kids adore having a bath at night and I have started to introduce salt baths as a way to also up their magnesium levels.
Time for bed
Setting a fixed bed time can help your mind recognise when it is time to settle down and go to sleep. The benefits are psychological as well as physical. Maintaining this set bed time helps the brain adjusts the sleep inducing melatonin and serotonin hormones. Hello circadian rhythm.
Reading before bed
Ok, this is nothing new, but reading brings on a more relaxed state. Whether you are reading yourself or reading to the kids, a great book can be a perfect way to switch off and be a welcome addition to any everyone’s nighttime routine.
Room environment
Keep your room temperature down, but not too cold! If we are too hot we often struggle to sleep. 16-19 degrees is a great starting point to help your body’s core temperature initiate sleepiness. We also love to use wool and natural bedding to help regulate body temperature overnight. Urban Wool do great wool duvets, mattress toppers and pillows! Also, a good black out blind or curtains are worth their weight in gold!!! You might even get a longer sleep at the weekends!
On top of this a new addition to our house is our totally amazing Dyson fan! I can’t tell you how much of a difference this has made to our bedrooms inparticular. I am mid way through a trial of the new Dyson Pure Cool fan but this clever fan is helping us improve the quality of the air we are breathing and tells me all about the air quality, allergens and other pollutants it in the handy app. Love that it has a glass HEPA filter, love that it has a night-time mode, remote control and even has voice command! I will be doing a full blog on this soon.
Smells
Just as I love a little pillow mist packed full of relaxing essential oils, these also work a treat on my kids. Earlier this summer we found two products that my family adore having beside their pillow. The first is De Mamiel’s Altitude Oil. The second is the Little Aurelia Sleep Time Pillow Mist.
Downward dog or massage?
Seriously a little bit of kid friendly yoga, meditation or relaxation are brilliant at soothing restless minds and bodies. Massage is one for my son. He has always loved a cheeky little leg and foot massage. If he is ever feeling restless at bedtime, he will ask for one without fail!
Turn off and unplug
Cut back on any engaging electronic devices before bedtime. I am really bad for his and love to check my Instastories before I sleep, however all that blue light is confusing for the brain and does not induce sleep! This week I am challenging myself to put my phone on flight mode at 9pm every night to see what a difference that makes.
Sleep well lovelies!
