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This afternoon we’re chatting about sleep… Something I’ve been told a time or two will start to slowly vanish from my life when we bring our newborn baby home from the hospital in the coming week or two!
What I didn’t expect to experience was a lack of sleep before our baby arrived. I read and heard all about women feeling uncomfortable during pregnancy, but for some reason I didn’t think back pain or feeling achy would really impact my sleep too much. (Ha! Ha! Ha!)
A few weeks ago, as you may remember me stating in one of my pregnancy recaps, I truly began to dread going to sleep at night because I knew I’d wake up a million times and feel incredibly uncomfortable. And then I’d start to play mind games with myself… “If I fall asleep right now and wake up at 6 a.m., I can still get seven hours of sleep…” Oh joy!
Well, after several weeks of lackluster sleep, I’ve come up with a handful of tricks that will often work for me and help me fall asleep at night or help me drift back to sleep after I’ve woken up for the 1,000th time to pee. I’m teaming up with Sleep Number to share some of them with you guys today and also offer you a pretty stellar sleep-themed giveaway at the end of this post!
Tips For Better Sleep
- Read Before Bed (Or When You Can’t Fall Back Asleep!)
Reading is a go-to for me when I am feeling restless and wide awake at bed time. There have also been a handful of times during my pregnancy when I’ve ended up falling asleep and then waking up around 2 a.m., unable to drift back to sleep. After a few nights of tossing and turning for more than an hour, I decided to try reading in the middle of the night. I turned on my light (thankfully Ryan was willing to wear an eye mask and didn’t seem to care!) and read for about 30 minutes until my eyes got heavy. I was able to fall asleep much faster than the previous nights when I just laid there thinking about all the sleep I was missing. Reading is key!
Also, Sleep Number recommends using a reading light that does NOT have a blue light, as blue light wakes you up more since it mimics daylight. Opt for a night light in more of a warm orange tone, which mimics sunset.
- Keep Phones Out of Reach from the Bedside
I used to keep my phone on my nightstand, but all too often I’d find myself checking emails or scrolling through Instagram before bed. There’s something about a phone screen that is just about the least soothing thing to look at before bed and once Ryan and I started keeping our phones out of reach from our bedside, we found ourselves reading more, talking with each other before bed and sleeping better. We started doing this years ago in Ocala and it’s a big one for us now!
According to Sleep Number, watching TV or using computers or phone before bed stimulates the brain and the blue light from screens makes it harder to get quality sleep. In a survey conducted by the company, Sleep Number found that people from California and Utah use electronics in bed the most, while those from Oregon and Iowa use electronics in bed the least!
- Get Into Bed an Hour Before You Want to Fall Asleep
(Pic from our baby’s nursery!)
I know busy schedules and to-do lists can make this one a challenge, but whenever possible, Ryan and I try to get into bed an hour before we actually hope to fall asleep. I looooove crawling into bed at the end of a long day (it’s seriously one of my favorite parts of every day) and when I know I have an hour to just hang out with Ryan, read a book or cuddle up with Sadie before I really feel like I need to fall asleep, I am much more relaxed and likely to drift off to sleep earlier than intended.
- Keep Your Room Temperature Cool
Two weeks ago, Ryan and I had our upstairs air conditioning fixed. (Hallelujah!!) Prior to that, we could not get our upstairs below 80 degrees at night and it was miserable. I could not stop sweating and eventually pointed a little space fan directly at my face and slept that way until we had our air fixed. We still don’t keep it as cool as I think we’d both like it because air conditioning is expensive, but at least a lot of the humidity is gone from our bedroom and sleeping in 70-something degrees is much nicer than 80+ degrees, that’s for sure! (Especially when you’re in your third trimester and can’t stop sweating as it is!) According to Sleep Number, the ideal sleeping temperature is 65 – 67 degrees.
- Exercise
I don’t think it was a coincidence that during the time I was experiencing intense sacroiliac pain, I slept the worst I have in years. Yes, I am sure a lot of this had to do with my inability to get comfortable in bed, but I also felt so incredibly restless and almost antsy. I feel like a lot of this had to do with the fact that I just wasn’t moving much during the day. My body wasn’t physically tired! I definitely sleep better on days when I am active and make it to the gym!
- Use Relaxation Techniques
Okay, this tip is a little strange, but I swear it works! Ryan actually taught it to me years ago when I was complaining about not feeling tired at all before bed one night. (Apparently he learned it in a yoga class years ago!) Focus on relaxing every part of your body starting from the very tips of your toes, moving all the way up to the top of your head. Concentrate on releasing tension from everywhere… Your ankles, knees, hips, every finger… By focusing all of my attention on relaxing my body, I cannot help but feel more calm (and, to be honest, a bit bored, which helps me feel more tired, too)!
- Track Your Sleep
This is a bit of a double-edged sword for me. Sometimes I can psych myself out if I feel like I’m getting too little sleep, but for the most part tracking sleep and figuring out what time I need to go to bed to get 8 hours of sleep helps me feel more motivated to get into bed at a reasonable time. There are tons of sleep trackers on the market these days that you can use and Sleep Number also created SleepIQ® technology that works with any new Sleep Number bed to track and monitor your sleep for you without requiring you to wear anything fancy. (Crazy, right?)
Giveaway
And now it’s time for a sleep-inspired giveaway! It’s a good one and I really hope it catches your eye, especially if you happen to be struggling to get a good night’s sleep!
One PBF reader will win the following sleep-themed prize pack:
- Two Sleep Number Pillows
- Comfortable Slippers
- Satin Eye Mask
- Anthropologie Personalized Mug (for evening tea)
- Lavender Candle
To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post telling me about one trick you use to help yourself fall asleep at night.
I will randomly select a giveaway winner on Friday morning. Good luck!
Disclaimer: White this post is sponsored by Sleep Number, I am personally sponsoring the giveaway portion (though Sleep Number is providing the pillows). Thank you so, so much for your continued support surrounding sponsored posts. I truly appreciate it!
For more tips on how to sleep better, visit Sleep Number.
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Reading before bed always does the trick!
I pull up a guided meditation on youtube and listen to that until I drift back to sleep. 🙂
Love this giveaway! Working out and reading work best for me!
Ah being a medical student sleep is so important but hard to get. I read a non text/medical book for 15 minutes and also do betime yoga routines I find on youtube!
I might be too late for the giveaway since it’s Friday morning, but oh well. 🙂
Reading before bed is my go-to for falling asleep. Sometimes, almost annoyingly so! I’ll really, really be into a book and I can read no more than a couple pages before I am out 🙂
I have got to have white noise when I sleep. I used to use an actual sound machine, but it was too much for my hubs when we got married. We compromised with a fan that we turn on every night. It’s just enough noise to quiet my thoughts down and soothe me to sleep! I actually can’t have my AC up too high in the car because the noise will make me sleepy while I’m driving!
Ironically this post came after a night where I slept terribly! Just had my 18 week appt with my OB yesterday and she told me no more back and stomach sleeping til baby comes. (I’m a guilty stomach sleeper) and even though I had the Snoogle between my knees all night, my hips were killing me at about 3 am!! crazytown.
I’ve been having such a hard time sleeping these past few weeks. Putting screens away an hour before bed and staying hydrated during the day seem to help!
I have tried all of these tricks and what I’ve started doing makes me sound like a bit of a child, but it’s also been helping me TONS. I heat up a small mug of hot dark chocolate almond milk. I tried it cold before bed one night, but then heated it (kinda like a hot chocolate only a bit healthier) and I slept AMAZING. I dunno if it’s the warm milk or the dark chocolate deliciousness, but it’s my go-to on nights I need a reallllly good rest. 🙂
Blackout curtains. Thanks for the giveaway!
Oh this is a big one for me! Routine! Every night before bed I make myself some Yogi tea (relaxed mind or sleepy time) and cuddle into bed with a book. I just have to make sure it’s a book I’ve read before, otherwise I get too into it and end up staying up later than I would have otherwise! Then I put on a sleep meditation and those usually conk me out. If I have really bad insomnia, I’ll take melatonin. I agree on the exercise thing – I sleep infinitely better if I’ve exercised that day!
For me to sleep well the room temperature needs to be cool. I used to sleep with a white noise machine but a fan also works. I also sometimes use a sleepy time lotion-that definitely relaxes me or I play light music if I’m really having trouble sleeping.
It’s one you mentioned, but reading before bed definitely helps put me to sleep. I’ve also noticed I don’t sleep as well if I haven’t worked out that day.
I wear earplugs when I sleep! It helps cut out random city noises!
Relaxation techniques like the one you mentioned above!
Eye mask and fan! Being a nurse I have to sleep during the day sometimes which is brutal.
I use a fan each night for white noise to help fall asleep and on nights I have trouble falling asleep, reading a book that I’ve read before is very helpful!
I need this! My baby is 4 months old so he is starting to sleep through the night. I, on the other hand, am not able to relax from my day of work and baby care.
I love a nice warm cup of tea before bed…it knocks me out every time!
I get in bed pretty early.
Thanks for such a nice giveaway! Reading is definitely my go to on helping me fall asleep!
I read until my eyes get heavy then drop everything and snooze. It works every time.
I love my black out curtains. I also use a fan as white noise to help me sleep.
Podcasts or reading!
I also read before bed! It works everytime and on nights I have nothing to read, it takes a lot longer for me to fall asleep:)
I just started reading before bed instead of watching tv and I fall asleep so much more quickly! I have also been taking Melatonin about 30 minutes before I want to sleep.
Excellent giveaway, sleep is my favorite! Reading with a cup of decaf tea right before bed is the most relaxing thing for me. Exercising regularly also helps as when I start to slip on my work outs I can tell because I’m not falling asleep as fast as I normally would. When reading doesn’t help I turn to an app on my phone called “Rain Rain.” This is a sound app. My favorite that puts me to sleep quickly is the “airliner,” which is found under transportation sounds. Weird, I know, especially since I don’t even like to fly!
I love the white noise and cooler temperature a fan provides (feeling just slightly chilly is the best for sleeping for me!) and if I’m struggling to sleep I focus on relaxing the muscles in my face. It sounds weird, but I guess I hold a lot of tension in my forehead especially, and really thinking about relaxing those muscles puts me to sleep in minutes. 🙂
Some gentle stretches and yoga usually helps me unwind and slow down to get to sleep!
I usually don’t have any issues with falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, but I have found that exercise makes sleep a lot easier. Sometimes when my brain won’t turn off, a book will help me relax. And, I’ve also noticed that watching TV or Netflix right before bed is horrible for sleep.
Reading before bed always does the trick for me… sometimes it takes a little while, and other times it’s almost instant, and I wake up later with my book still open!
Reading is also a sure way to help me get tired before bed : )
That relaxation exercise of focusing on every part of your body really helps if my mind is racing right before bed.
Oh I’ve been struggling with sleep- love these ideas!
I have always had a hard time sleeping. I’ve tried every trick there is and sometimes nothing works. I also try to relax every muscle in my body, which sometimes helps.
i read or do yoga
I have read myself to sleep for as long as I can remember!
I count backwards from 100! I never get through it twice.
I’m big on keeping my phone away and making sure I stop talking. I’m bad about that one!
I’m all about reading before bed! Can’t fall asleep without it!
i just have my husband rub my feet. works every time.
When I can’t fall asleep at night i pray the Rosary until I slowly start to drift off into sleep. It works great! 🙂
I need all the sleep I can get with my new baby, who is 7 months!
PS- it goes by way to quickly!
Best way to get me to fall asleep it to read and have a sound machine on!
PSS- Congrats on Chase. He is perfect!!! So happy for your family!
A cup of peppermint tea shortly before bed is the perfect sleep remedy for me!
I put lavender oil all over myself! So soothing
I turn off the tv and lower the light. I also try really hard to limit technology 30 minutes before bed
I like to have a small glass of red wine and just chill on the couch thinking about how the day went and about what I would like to accomplish the next day. I need to find another book to read though! I love to read before bed.
I like to use lavender essential oils on my temples and sometimes even underneath my nose!
I focus on my breathing. Also, working out daily helps, too.
I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old, so after they go to bed I work on my homework as long as I can stay awake. When I start to pass out at my desk I crawl into the bedroom and fall asleep right away. 😛
I try and read before bed.