I was asked the question by Casper as to what pyjamas I wear, that are my favourites, that help me get a better nights sleep. The festival of sleep was on January 3 2015 and although this post is a little later, it did make me think about what makes for the perfect beauty sleep. Obviously for me, it is to not sleep in the same house as Isla, as she is the one who wakes me up in the night and at the crack of dawn.
Casper know how refreshing a good night of beauty sleep can be and with investors such as Ashton Kutcher and NAS who could ignore them? They have an incredible range of mattresses that look incredibly stylish and flicking through the list of products really got me in the mood for bed! I love snuggling into bed and I have a few things that make it that “better” nights sleep. I do have to stress that 1/7 nights a week I will get an uninterrupted nights sleep, which will include me going to bed around midnight and getting up at 6am. The other nights of the week Isla will be up a couple of times in that 6 hour window, from anything for a drink of milk or a snuggle in Mummy’s bed. On the odd occasion it is to play with the bricks and build a tower by my bedside for 2 hours. Yes the joys of little ones!
My beauty sleep routine
My favourite pyjamas for absolute comfort are my NEXT trousers and tee that says “oh wake up”, it literally is what I say in the mornings to myself as I never want to wake up. I am getting better at waking up though. I love wearing pyjamas that are thick, warm and cosy. It gets me in the right frame of mind for a relaxing and good nights sleep. I tend to be wrapped up in a dressing gown before bed too, so I will always be nice and snuggly before I get into bed.
I stopped looking at devices and doing work too late at night, as I found that my mind was still whirring when I did get into bed and this is often why I don’t get into bed until midnight: there is always something else to do. I have a nice long hot bath, watch something on my iPad whilst I am soaking in the bath that doesn’t require any brain work. So that I can just relax, a good ole drama or another episode of Hereos on Netflix! This does relax me, warms me up and I am totally ready to jump into bed afterwards.
Not eating too late is another good idea for getting a good nights sleep. We usually eat quite late, some nights later than others, so making sure that the late nights remain at a minimal is better for me. I really don’t like eating at 10pm as most of the time I will want to go straight to bed and I can’t as I have just eaten. You know that feeling when you are tired and full up? So I am trying to make a conscious effort to eat earlier and better, salads and foods like that as opposed to potatoes and pastas.
I have recently joined up to the local gym, on the back of my husbands account so that I can keep fit. It is really hard to do so when your shoulder and back aches so much, but a gentle swim or a brisk walk on the treadmill is keeping me quite fit and not effecting my whiplashed muscles. I forgot about the impact that car accident would have on my body, not being able to exercise properly being something I had forgotten. I have put on so much weight since the accident, it is really unlike me. So trying to keep fit is quite a task, but I am getting there and this helps to get a better nights sleep. I am tired and usually aching by the time I get into bed so I therefore sleep better.
In terms of Isla, I have been really struggling to get her into a better routine lately, so that it can help me to get a better nights sleep! If she doesn’t nap in the daytime, she goes to bed perfectly at 6:30pm / 7pm, the same as Noah. Which is great. I don’t spend two hours walking up and down the stairs, trying to settle her, and getting myself in a ball of stress because I am tired and need my dinner. So this is working well. Good. But she still wakes me up in the middle of the night and it is completely random. It never seems to be anything in particular, sometimes she cries for milk, sometimes she feel awfully cold and sometimes she is just as bright as a button wanting to play or cuddle. I have tried a lot of things to get her to sleep through and I am afraid that it seems to be random. I will keep working on this, as I do need some beauty sleep. A working full time, mummy of two small children with an active lifestyle does take its toll on you!
So these are some steps I have been taking to get a better nights sleep, maybe I need to get Isla one of these Casper mattresses!
