EASY CHANGES IVE MADE TO GET A BETTER SLEEP

SLEEP.

The word I'm not getting much of lately. Lets be more honest.. the word I haven't been getting much of for the last five years! (kids) I struggle without it, we all do and since I have had my second child I have only started to realize how important it is for me to get a good night sleep. Not only for my own personal benefits but for my children too!  

This winter Im making some changes In order to get a BETTER NIGHTS SLEEP! 

I wanted to share with you what changes I have made so far. 

​I did a little bit of a google search to find out how much sleep we actually need.

We need 7-9 hours of sleep, school-age kids require 9-11 and pre-schoolers need 10-13 hours.  Stella (5) is in bed by 7 and wakes at 7 so she is doing well their with her sleep (no wonder shes non stop each day. Sadie (1) sleep is all over the place but generally she would get to bed at 6pm and up at 6am ( a few short wake ups through the night) so shes doing ok too.

Its ME who I am more concerned about. Although each night the kids are both down by 7pm that then gives me plenty of time to run around like a mad woman doing the chores and Im often always in bed by 8.30pm. Now not in bed off to sleep but in bed with the TV on, working on the computer or scrolling Instagram (SO many hours spent on the gram!) I cant switch off until well after 10pm.  

Now if I went to sleep at 10pm and slept through to 6/7pm I would be one happy lady but a few things get in the way each night.
​
- The children. Every night Im up with Sadie and some with Stella. 
- Anxiety. I haven't chatted about anxiety on her yet but for me this is worse at night.
- Brain wont stop.  Im always thinking in the night, I seriously need to put a book and pen next to my bed because at night is when I come up with the best ideas!

So heres a few ways I am attempting to improve my sleep.

1. Magnesium - I have been using Nutralife Magnesium + Gentle for awhile now. Since having Sadie I have struggled with anxiety at night so I started taking magnesium for this reason however it helps with sleep too. I like the 'Gentle' forumla as some formulas upset my tummy.

2. Warm Up - We live in a old home with wooden floors, its not the warmest so this beautiful Wallace Cotton hot water bottle cover in blush suede is so cosy at night. I read that war feet aid a drop i body temperature allowing us to fall asleep easily. 

3. Comfort - I love hoping into bed with clean sheets - that clean sheet feeling and sleeping on linen. That's my thing I love good quality bedding for a good nights sleep. But you can never forget to sort out whats underneath the sheets. I  recently added a Mattress Protector from Protect - A - Bed to our mattress. I chose one to suit our needs. They have a range of protectors for different matters. The entire range of Protect-A-Bed® products have been approved by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand’s Sensitive Choice Program plus, the TENCEL® range gets the tick with approval from the Eczema Association. This is what I use on my daughters bed, they are also amazing for sensitive skin! Once we added this protector I noticed a use difference to my sleep and comfort. No more plastic feeling under the sheets, these protectors are so soft. They are also a fitted style, so no more of those annoying corner loops your current protector might have!

4. Phones off - This is a biggie and the step I struggle with the most. To wind down I find myself on my phone and I cant just check one platform. I have to check emails, instagram, facebook... over and over before I put my phone down and head to sleep. Ive been making a conscious effort to get any work done as soon as the kids are in bed and then spend as little as possible on social media for the night. If this means putting my phone on flight mode I will or even turning it off!
​
5. Stick to a Routine - Ive been trying to stick to a routine with my bed times for eample going to bed and waking up at the  same time each day even in the weekend however thats a given  with kids. Hoping this will help  my body clock and it will know when its sleep time.

---

I hope by putting these few changes into play I will see some improvement  with the  quality of my sleep!
​

Shop the full Protect-A-Bed® range here, or find a New Zealand retailer here.

This post was made possible by the number 1 selling Mattress Protector by Protect- A- Bed