Sleep?? - Pah, Who Needs It?!

I don't know about you but, having two babies a year apart has totally blitzed my ability to sleep. I have trouble sleeping deeply, for over 4 hours at a time, I struggle to get back to sleep if I'm woken and I can't get enough of the damn stuff! I wake up every day feeling exactly the same as I did when I went to bed - Knackered!!

I think this qualifies as some sort of exhaustion. I can't do much about it other than sleep a bit more and try to break the habit of waking or staying awake. I did find a list of helpful hints to aid restful sleep so thought I would share them with you. I found this on iMOM.com along with some other interesting stuff so pop over and have a read. I bet you will find at least one useful fact you can try!


1. Electronics. It’s almost impossible to get away from backlit screens and beeping gadgets in the home, but good sleep demands that you do. Turn off the TV and put your phone on silent an hour before bedtime, and resist the urge to bring your laptop into the bedroom for a little late-night shopping. Your teenagers should follow the same guidelines. (We actually recommend having your teen “park” their phone for the night somewhere besides their bedroom to prevent texting past bedtime.)

2. Caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant, and some are more sensitive to its effects than others. Try eliminating caffeinated beverages after mid-afternoon to avoid nighttime wakefulness.

3. Temperature. Is your bedroom too hot? Too cold? Try adjusting the temperature. Many fitful sleepers report resting best in a room a few degrees cooler than the normal daytime thermostat setting.

4. Daytime Napping. If you must grab a cat nap to get through the day, keep it under an hour and don’t nap after 3 pm.

5. Evening Exercise. While exercise in general contributes to better sleep, exercising too late in the day can actually disturb it. Try to wrap up your workout at least 3-4 hours before bedtime.

6. Hunger or Fullness. Going to bed hungry can make falling asleep tough, but so can eating a full meal right before crashing. If you’re a hungry late in the evening, have a small snack, and make it something easily digestible, like bread or cereal.

7. Alcohol. That late night glass of wine may make you feel temporarily drowsy, but it actually works against allowing your body to settle into the deep sleep you need to feel fully rested. Treat it like caffeine and don’t imbibe after dinner.

8. Stress. Your mind needs to slow down in the couple of hours before bedtime, so avoid activities that induce stress in the evening. Instead, try a hot bath to relax before getting in your pjs.

9. Erratic Schedules. Going to bedtime at different times every night keeps your body’s internal clock confused. Establish a regular bedtime and wake-up time and stick to it.

10. Medications. Certain over-the-counter and prescription medications can cause insomnia. If you take a particular drug regularly, talk with your doctor to see if it may be part of your sleep problem.

I think I score quite well with these.
I currently sleep in the boys room so there are no electrical items in there.
It is also a good temperature, although it can get quite chilly at night.
I am trying to drink less tea so have hot chocolate at night instead.
Daytime napping?! Do people actually get the time for that??
My evening exercise is carrying the boys up to bed at bath time. - That's plenty after a day of chasing them round!
We eat about 5pm with the boys so I may have a snack in the evening but that's all.
I'm not a big drinker and if I do drink it is usually with dinner so I am sober long before bed!!
I am currently so tired I can fall asleep mid sentence, stress or no stress!
I am trying to stick to bed before 11pm and Im not doing too badly. I seem to fall asleep at 7 then wake up for an hour about midnight, before sleeping on until the boys wake up at 5:30am
I don't think my anti d's affect my sleep much.

I hope you find some of those useful. I just need to go to bed earlier I think. Will try that and see what happens! Having typed all that, I am now feeling sleepy so am going to bed before it wears off. Sleep well everybody xxx