Now that you’ve made it to the end of your day – hopefully starting with a nourishing routine, building in self care breaks to continue filling your cup (and maybe even having enough to help others fill their cups) – it’s time to talk sleep. We all know it is extremely important, and we all know that newborn parents don’t get enough.
Momming During A Pandemic –Tips for Getting Much Needed Sleep
Sleep disruption during late pregnancy and early postpartum is expected, but that doesn’t mean we just throw up our hands and give into insomnia. Sleep disruption during a pandemic is… well, we are still learning about what it is as we are with everything related to health and COVID-19. Over the past six months researchers have found that people are reporting a decrease in the quality of sleep, more vivid dreams, and more challenges falling asleep. In general, this sounds to me like the patterns of newborn mom sleep – with the added frequent wake up times to feed or attend to baby, of course. So now we have to consider not only the “normal” sleep patterns postpartum, but the added effects on our sleep due to living through a pandemic.
“Why is Sleep Important During a Pandemic? Sleep is a critical biological process, and the truth is that it’s always important. When confronting the COVID-19 pandemic, though, sleep becomes even more essential because of its wide-ranging benefits for physical and mental health. Sleep empowers an effective immune system.” ~ SleepFoundation.org
Sleep is critical for all bodily functions most especially effective immune function and mental health. What is not new during this unprecedented time is the struggle newborn moms have around sleep. Since moms are most often the primary baby caretaker, they are often the most sleep deprived. Newborn babies eat every two to three hours for the first three months, which translates into the primary caregiver experiencing sleep disruption for approximately 90 nights. Even when the caregiver is able to sleep when baby sleeps at night, sleeping for two hours at a time for three months is a huge draw on the immune system and mental health.
Newborn Parent Sleep Strategies
I know I don’t need to make a case for good sleep, all newborn moms and partners want to sleep more! So how do we go about getting more than two to three hours at a time with a newborn? Research tells us that a recently postpartum women requires at least five hours per night of solid sleep to recover and thrive. She needs five hours every night for at least a year or longer to lessen the effects of anxiety and depression, to produce breastmilk, to heal from the birth….
It takes two to get five! You will need two adults who are willing to give up a little sleep for the greater good for this strategy. The partner sleep schedule looks something like this:
Partner #1 goes to bed at 9pm and sleeps uninterrupted until 3am. This means that partner #2 is handling all baby-related issues until 3am. Then partner #2 goes to bed at 3am and sleeps uninterrupted until 8am. This gives each partner at least 5 solid hours of sleep.
General Sleep Hygiene Tips
While it’s more of a challenge to set a regimented sleep schedule to adhere to due to your newborn baby’s frequent needs, you can still practice healthy sleep hygiene.
Just like with creating a nourishing morning routine to prepare you for your day, you can implement specific strategies into your evening to prepare you for sleep. The Sleep Foundation has some great tips, see the full article here:
TIP #1: Keep it consistent! Just like with our children, our routine should be consistent. Wash your face, brush your teeth, get in your pjs. If you shower or bathe in the evening, do so about 30-45 minutes before bedtime to reap the most benefit for relaxing.
TIP #2: Find what relaxes you and do that for 30 minutes. Maybe it’s reading a book, that aforementioned bath, listening to music, doing breathing exercises or restorative yoga. Experiment to find out what truly works for you.
TIP #3: Prepare yourself physically by turning off electronics and dimming lights 30 minutes to an hour prior to bed. These go hand in hand as electronics and bright lights hinder and maybe even decrease melatonin production – a hormone responsible for your circadian rhythm and important for sleep.
TIP #4: Set the stage for good sleep! Consider everything for your bedding, room temperature, lighting, to a noise machine and an essential oil diffuser. There are a lot of factors you can tinker with when it comes to physical comfort – try a few to see what feels good.
TIP #5: Good sleep hygiene doesn’t just start at night. Some things we do during our day/afternoon will affect sleep. Try to drink your caffeinated beverages early in the day, don’t eat too close to bedtime, avoid smoking and drinking excess alcohol, which affects quality of sleep.
The 15 Minute Pre-Bedtime Routine
Let’s be totally real…sometimes we don’t have the luxury of an extended relaxing 30-45 minute bedtime routine and that is OK! Do take some time to set yourself up for success when it comes to relieving a little stress and conquering your to-dos. You can always gradually increase the minutes outlined below to get to a 20-20-20 ratio.
Here’s a quick routine:
Take 5 minutes to review what’s on your calendar for the next day
Take 5 minutes to prep meals for the next day (restock backpacks, make lunches, thaw food for crockpot dinner)
Take 5 minutes to yourself for personal care (brush teeth, take off make-up, get dressed for bed, take nighttime supplements)