Last year, insomnia turned me into someone I didn’t know. I became a mom who woke up in the morning with barely enough time to rush her kids out the door and watch them run to the bus stop. A mom whose kids got their own breakfast, and they would buy lunch again. I had perpetual pounding headache and short fuse. I needed more than a nap — I needed an intervention.
Extreme lack of sleep changed me, mentally, physically and emotionally. When I was awake from 2 to 5 a.m., I couldn’t get up for the 5:30 a.m. workout that brought me life. I didn’t prep healthy meals. I wasn’t careful with my words to my husband and my kids.
Before, I was an all-the-healthy-habits mom. I really did love hitting the gym early and the energy it gave me for the day. I packed bento boxes for my kids’ lunches. I made breakfast smoothies, and I meal planned family dinners for the week. I’m not claiming my attitude was always perfect, but I had a greater capacity for being patient and kind to my kids. I walked them to the bus stop and gave hugs and kisses to last the day.
I wanted to be that mom again. I long to do my very best job well and enjoy it.
Clearly, I’m not alone in my sleep struggle (I see you, mamas with little babies). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate more than a third of us adults don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis.
I began looking into sleep hygiene – and for me it turned out that some unhealthy lifestyle factors and habits have added to the sleep train wreck I’m now experiencing.
One obvious habit was scrolling Instagram before bed.
Another culprit was a few extraordinary stressful situations. I dwelled on things during the day, and my mind didn’t get the memo to stop at night.
And then there’s the fact that as a freelance writer and small business owner, I’m always on – sometimes writing articles after my kids have gone to bed and many times completing small work tasks into the evening.
These elements have coalesced into a habitual lack of sleep. The idea that “I never sleep well” began to perpetuate itself and has become a reality.
Some things have been quicker fixes than others.
I’ve tried to create a relaxing evening routine for myself. This is easier said than done when my kids don’t go to bed until I want to go to bed in the summertime!
In the evening, I plug my phone in and leave it in the kitchen or my bathroom counter – not beside my bed where I can be tempted by the ‘gram.
I now try to complete my writing tasks in the daytime rather than after my kids go to bed. But taking care of business to-dos in the evening will not stop anytime soon.
My husband knows my struggle and he’s helping me on the mind game. Surprisingly to me, his positive affirmations have helped. At night, saying ‘I will sleep well and I will wake up and work out in the morning’ has become my mantra.
I can’t say that I’m great at all of these all the time, but I can tell when I do them, I notice an improvement. Do you have any sleep health tips to share? I’ll try pretty much anything to get back to being my well-rested self again!
