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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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I start my own dreams sometimes to help me sleep. Weird I know lol But it works 🙂 Thanks for the giveaway!
I read before going to sleep every night. I also don’t use any electronics past 9:00 pm (other than watching TV, which is not in my bedroom). Both seem to help!
I enjoy reading in bed until I’m tired too but also swear by an eye mask and a fan for white noise. Drowns everything out.
Keep telling myself to relax and that this is the best time of the day
I put my phone away and I read in bed until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.
The ticket for better sleep is a pitch black room!! The slightest bit of light through my eyelids when trying to sleep and I may as well be looking at my phone screen. Black out all lights or wear a sleep mask <– my lifesaver.
I 100% believe that lower/warm lighting helps to wind down (no electronics!) and then I am a big fan of the lavender honey lotion from bath and body works – I rub it on my arms and hands before bed and then throw on my eye pillow and I’m asleep in 5-10 minutes!
I wear a sleep mask to bed every night and it definitely helps me to fall asleep, and go back to sleep faster if I wake up in the middle of the night. Complete darkness is essential for me to get a good sleep =)
Reading and a clean, warm bed help me to go to sleep!
cuddling with my dog makes me happy and relaxed before bed
I put my phone far away and turn on the do not disturb feature!
clean fresh sheets!
It’s really important for me to “set the mood” before I go to bed. About a half hour before I get into bed, I put on a soothing playlist and/or internet radio station, light a softly scented candle, and dim the lights while I go through my nighttime routine. I use the oil-cleansing method to wash my face, which requires me to place a warm towel over my face – super calming after a long day! I might also do some stretches if my body is feeling tense or I may massage my temples a bit if I’ve just finished doing work or thinking hard about something. If I’m not ready to go straight to sleep, I usually take some time to color a little in my coloring book, read a book for pleasure in hard-copy, or look through my cookbooks to get ideas for upcoming meals.
Reading before bed is a must for me and if I’m having trouble quieting my head I focus on deep long breaths and that usually works!
I don’t drink caffeine after noon. It helps!
For me, what helps me fall asleep, is not doing a whole lot before bed. So I’m not on my phone or anything like that. Also, I tend to watch a show at night that won’t get my brain worked up (so nothing scary!). I watch Seinfeld or some comedy or something.
I think about my day!
Limiting screen time before bed helps me a ton!
When I can’t fall asleep I will often read as well! However, only a book that I know I’m not too interested in or all it will do is keep me awake for hours…haha
What an amazing give away! Sleep is so important! I always make sure to never go to bed hungry, and I use a white noise machine to block out sound.
This is an amazing giveaway!! I LOVE sleep! My roommate makes fun of me for how lame I am so much because I’ll so often chose sleep over other things 🙂 I love reading before bed but also just focusing on my breathing can help relax me and soothe me to sleep if I’m feeling restless
I diffuse lavender essential oils to help me get sleep. It always works like a charm.
Chamomile tea!
I sleep better with a little background noise, so I run a small fan (usually pointed at me to keep me cool–I’m with you on saving $$$ by not using much AC) in my bedroom.
I count my blessings…I always fall asleep before I get to the end 🙂
I know it’s weird but I use a fan and Christmas music to fall asleep
Warm bath and a good book always helps me get to sleep!
A good book and a warm cup of Sleep Time tea!
I found that practicing deep breathing (yoga style) and drinking some rooibos tea helps me fall asleep at night
A warm cup of sleepy time tea before bed. Also you are so right about being active during the day!
It never fails, everytime I read a book to get relaxed, it makes me doze right off to sleep!
A cup of tea and a book always helps me fall asleep.
I will take an epsom salts bath about an hour or two before I want to sleep and I will read.
Well.. I wonder if I poured sugar in my neighbors gas tanks, if that would help me sleep? Just joking, just joking! lol But if they moved I would get more sleep. I have my son’s birthday party today and they revved their engines until 1am and started back up at 6am. I’m tired!! End rant! :p
I love breathing in some relaxing essential oils before I fall asleep!
My aunit once told me to just close my eyes and not open them when I couldn’t fall asleep. Sounds easy and obvious but somehow that reminder has stuck with me and not opening my eyes works!
A warm Lavender bubble bath always puts me to sleep! And a glass of wine never hurts 😉
Night time yoga sequence and a little bit of Tiger Balm ointment or peppermint oil on my temples:)
I read before bed and that always knocks me out in minutes!
When my my mind is racing, I put on a podcast and I often drift off to sleep while it’s on. The iPhone podcast app has a sleep timer.
Lavender body lotion from Trader Joes and melatonin!
Counting down from 1,000 to 1 helps my mind focus on something when I’m trying to fall asleep instead of thinking about tomorrow’s tasks. Usually I only make it to the 500-400 range before I drift off as long as I count slowly.
To help myself fall asleep at night, I love making a cup of warm tea with milk and honey. The warmth of the drink and the cozy smell it creates always relaxes me and gets me ready for sleep!
Reading and tea for sure! We also don’t have a TV in our bedroom so no late night binge watching sessions 🙂
I stretch or do a light yoga!
Lavender essential oil in a diffuser
I use my “White Noise” app to help me fall asleep.
P.S. Loving the baby pics 🙂
Reading a good book!
I actually just get in bed early and keep my eyes closed 🙂
The best thing for me is definitely reading! I started a project two years ago where I read 12 books in a year, and having that goal made me try and read at least a little bit every night, even when I’m busy. There’s just something about that soft bed and reading that puts me to sleep so fast, but I don’t mind! I had to stop doing homework in bed because I kept getting so sleepy, haha.