My Best Tips on How to Get A Restful Nights Sleep

Buckle up and enjoy these easy tips on how to get a restful nights sleep with a house full of kids

Lately, my sleeps been out of whack trying to adjust to my families new schedule. Scootabot still doesn’t sleep through the night. She’s up and hungry at 4am which means I’m up too.

Back in my homeschooling days waking up at 4am wouldn’t be an issue because I could sneak in more sleep before our day officially began. However, both of my older girls are physically going to school and that means a lot of work in the mornings and definitely no extra sleep.

Now you know ya girl needs her sleep so, I had to figure out a way to catch all my Z’s. The funny thing about that is feeling well-rested is more about how my night goes than what time I wake up.

What happened to my sleep?

Listen, we all need time to ourselves but, if you’re a SAHM (stay at home mom) like me chances are you very rarely get it. Our days are pumped full of taking care of everybody else’s wants and needs. Then at the end of the day we either fall out or try to enjoy a few moments of quiet.

I can’t speak for anybody else but, I usually fall out. I go to sleep and I sleep hard. Staying up all night just to have alone time isn’t really my thing. I’ve always preferred a quiet morning with a hot cup of coffee before the house rises.

Lately though, I haven’t been having those kinds of mornings. Everybody is up between 5 and 6 stealing away the time I usually had carved out for myself. And if I’m being honest, it totally sucks. I really need that time alone to take care of myself. You know the deal – journal, stretch a little without someone pulling on my neck. That kind of stuff.

The lack of my personal time in the AM lead me to trying to stay up later. That of course lead me to struggling with my 4am wake up call. So, naturally I was back to the drawing board trying to find a solution. I needed time to myself and to feel rested but, how?

What was this change and where did it have to be made?

You might be reading this thinking “It’s easy Shay, go to bed earlier!”. Yeah okay, and whose going to put all the kids to bed earlier? That’s right, ME, because mama doesn’t play about feeling well-rested. But, I also needed to squeeze in that morning me time. So, how?

My First Tip for how to get a restful nights sleep

Calculate how much sleep you need

My first tip for how to get a restful nights sleep is to know how much sleep you need. For me I can excel off of 6 hours. So, I had to calculate what time I needed to be asleep to get atleast 6 hours if I wanted to wake up at 4am. That meant my bedtime needed to be 10pm.

Of course I didn’t expect to fall straight asleep. I knew I’d have to set the tone not only for myself but for the house. That brings me to my second tip on how to get a restful nights sleep.

Set the Mood for Bedtime

Setting the mood for bedtime is a big job if you’re trying to do it for a house full of people including kids. The most important thing I do is let everyone know it’s bedtime by starting our nightly routine. This means cleaning up the main areas of the house (kitchen, living room, dining room), showering and shutting off the lights. Once the cleaning starts my kids know it’s time to wind down. Cleaning up is essential because I cannot relax in a dirty house. The second part is also an important tip if you want to get better sleep and that’s showering.

How to get a restful nights sleep : SHOWERING

Showering is super important for getting a better nights rest. The hot water will relax your body and if you use certain scents like Lavendar, you’ll put yourself in an even better position to rest well. There are a lot of soaps and salts on the market to help accommodate you. Plus, having a body that’s clean just feels better. If you do anything at all make sure you wash up your kids. They can get so sticky and dirty and it really can affect their sleep as well. So, shower up or take a bath! Turn it into a whole thing and enjoy.

Use Melatonin

Of course, nobodies going to fall asleep right on the dot. We’re still working on naturally falling asleep at 10pm. Until we do, I’ve got a few aides which include melatonin.

Everybody but the baby takes one.

Since some people are against using melatonin for their children, I want to take the time to mention something very important.

THESE ARE MY KIDS!!

Now that we’ve settled that. I want to talk to you a little bit more about melatonin. This isn’t my first rodeo using it to adjust my kids sleeping patterns. I’ve found that after a week or so my children begin to naturally follow the schedule I tried to create. Especially when I use them hand in hand with other methods to promote relaxation.

Typically when I’m trying to get them to bed I make sure everybody has a nice, long, warm bath. As soon as they get out, I give them the melatonin. I follow that up by using lotion to give them a deep massage. Personally, I think the full body massage is what really cuts their lights. Then I make sure they’ve got on super comfy pajamas and no electronics to distract them. Lights out!

Kids down, mom to go

How to get a restful nights sleep once you’ve put the house down

Take a Melatonin

Once my kids are settled it’s my turn. I pop a melatonin and take a quick, steamy shower. Then I settle into my bed and read, write or just lay there. The only fiddling I do with my phone is setting the volume and alarms for the morning. Which, I’ve now adjusted to go off 30 minutes later so I can have just a tiny bit of me time. Trust me, my kids aren’t waking up unless I wake them up so I’m really the master of sleep in this house.

We currently use and enjoy Olly Kids Sleep. Yes, even us adults take it. It’s a tasty gummy that everybody loves and isn’t hard to chew. You might like it for your kids if they enjoy fruit snacks. It gives that kind of vibe instead of vitamin gummies. If you know what I mean.

I’ve used several brands in the past all specifically for children but, I’ve never repurchased a brand. I can tell you right now, if I need to I’ll be buying these again.

Olly Kids Sleep is quick and effective for both my children and myself. It’s especially impressive how easily it gets Shark Baby calm. Aside from how effective it is, the gummies taste great. They’re like little fruit snacks and my kids have no complaints about texture or after taste like they have had with other brands. I’m telling you now this stuff is worth every penny. The only negative thing I’d say is I struggled with the lid but, that’s more of a personal problem.

Put your phone down

My final tip is to put your phone down. You’ve probably heard it a million times before but, do it. You can do it! Keep your phone as far away from you as possible. Not only will it help you resist getting out of bed to get to it before you fall asleep. Keeping your phone away will help you get up and out of bed in the morning to turn off the alarm. Its a double whammy win win.

Staying off your phone helps cut down on bluelight exposure which does keep us up. It also helps relax our mind. So instead of scrolling away you can try to journal, pray or put on sleep music.

Read – 5 Signs You’re Overwhelmed

How to get a restful nights sleep recap

• Choose a bedtime that gives you enough sleep for the average time you wake up (EX: If you know you are going to be up at 5am pick a bedtime that gives you an amount of sleep you’re comfortable with. For me I’d choose 11pm. That allows me 6 hours of sleep which is the perfect amount to be productive.)
• Make sure that the entire house is set to get you in the mood for bed. This means cut off the lights, put down your cell phone. Quiet those kiddos.
• Relax your body with a hot shower or bath, use soaps or scents that promote relaxation.
• Take a melatonin to further help your body relax and prepare for bed
• Get in bed and either do something to help lull you to sleep like read or even just lay in bed. Don’t use your phone.

That’s just about it ladies. I’m telling you the hardest thing to do is settle the kids but, I gave you some tips on that. So, try it out -tonight. Then bring your well-rested butt back here and tell me how it went.

Til next time!

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