Need anything from Tesco? Like Nescafe Azir and 90g instant coffee? For just £3.50 this Easter with your Tesco Club Card. Because every little helps. Majority of larger stores Azir and 90g ends 14th April. Club card or app required. Hi, I'm Jessica Vellant, a physical therapist and women's health expert and the host of Meet Your Body. The show where we strip away the confusion and reconnect you with the strength, wisdom and joy your body already has. Each week I share real life stories and education around exercise, injuries, midlife and mindset to help you feel empowered and at home in your body. Listen to Meet Your Body wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, MamaWorkit Tribe. I'm Marissa Lonick, working mom of four, lover of all things flow, family and fulfillment. You're tuning in to the MamaWorkit podcast where we take aim at overwhelm, mom guilt and exhaustion and swap them out for big dreams, belly laughs and productivity that actually fits into your life. Every week we dive into tips, motivation and a healthy dose of fun so you can slay your day even when you're busy AF. Ready to feel seen, energized and totally unstoppable? Let's get to work, Mama. Hey, hey Mama Friends. Welcome back to another awesome episode of the MamaWorkit podcast. As always, I am so excited and happy and grateful that you're here and listening and joining me today. Good topic today, you guys. Really good topic and that is sleep. Sleep. I don't know about you, but when I became a mom, I feel like sleep went from being kind of important to being like super important because it was like this coveted thing that no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get enough of. So today we're going to be talking about seven ways, seven practical things that you can do to get more sleep as a working mom without massive overhaul in your life. Don't worry. These are simple, quick, easy tips, tricks that I personally used, clients that I work with have used. And hopefully they are going to help you get more sleep, better sleep without guilt perfection or just really unrealistic routines that the season you're in just does not allow for. So let's get started by just acknowledging the fact that a lot of us in this season of life are freaking exhausted. We're exhausted. Now, whether you are pregnant and maybe you're waking up to pee, then you'd like so that's interrupting your sleep. Maybe you've got a newborn at home who is eating throughout the night. Maybe you are in the four month sleep regression or some other type of sleep regression in your baby or toddler's life. Maybe it is cold and flu season as you are listening to this and somebody feels like somebody is always sick in your house and waking up. Maybe this is more about just you and feeling anxious or stressed and thoughts keeping you up at night. Or recently what I've been experiencing is even though I feel great all day long, I mean most days, right? We all have our days, but like I get these like stress dreams at night that wake me up or keep me up. So I want to just acknowledge the fact that like if you are tired, if you are exhausted, you are not alone. A lot of us are feeling this way. It is very common, very normal for most likely the season you're in. So I want to set the expectation. This is about more sleep. It's about better quality sleep, but it's not going to be about perfect sleep, right? Perfection doesn't even exist. So we are going to talk about how to increase our quality and quantity of sleep today via these seven tips. So if you are working mom listening to this and you are feeling any form of tired, this episode is for you. So let's dive in to our seven practical sleep shifts as I will refer to them today. And I'm going to run through these. You know how I like to give action steps and tips and tricks. And if you are able to, you want to jot some things down, please feel free. If it is not safe for you to do so, like you're driving or you're running or you're doing something else because I know a lot of times we're doing lots of other things while listening to podcasts. At least I know I am. That's okay. You can always come back and listen again. Obviously take what works for you, leave what doesn't. I just want to equip you with a toolkit of what can help you hopefully get better or more or both sleep. So first thing I want to share is about a sleep schedule. So I want you to actually create a sleep schedule. Like you have this for your kids, most likely, but you probably don't have it for yourself. So what does that look like? It looks like setting a bedtime. I know you're a grown ass woman. That's okay. You can still have a bedtime. And I want you to do this by either setting a reminder on your phone, like time for sleep, announcing it to people in your house, like literally let everyone know, hey, my bedtime is this time. So everyone's aware. Everyone's in the loop. Maybe write it down. I mean, ideally you want this bedtime to be eight hours before wake up time. So calculate it that way. But write it down. Maybe put a little post it like on the mirror in your bathroom or someplace where you'll see it all the time. But set a bedtime for yourself. Create a schedule. Now, just like you would set a bedtime, you're also going to set a wake up time. You're probably already doing this via an alarm, right? But I want you to think about the time that your alarm goes off and the time that you actually wake up. Are they the same? Or are you doing lots of snoozing in the morning? If that is you. And trust me, I have been in that season and sometimes I even creep back into that season. Try to change that in the sense of set the alarm at the time that you're actually going to wake up. So there's no room for snoozing there. And again, announce it. Tell people in your house about this. Tell your partner, tell your friends, even tell like people outside your house. Because you are way more accountable to stick to something that you say you're going to do if you bring other people in these kind of like unofficial accountability partners. So that is tip number one. It is about creating a sleep schedule, a bedtime, a wake up time and bringing in that accountability that goes hand in hand with that. All right, tip number two about getting more sleep is has to do with your phone, your phone. You knew I was going there, right? You were like, when is she going to bring this up? I know the phone is such a culprit for me of going to bed later than I should. This is probably the same case for you. And also, I'm sure you've heard this before, studies have shown that if you are looking at your phone or any type of screen right before bed, that blue light is messing with the quality of your sleep, potentially. And so hard and fast rule here is like no phone right before bed. Okay, so maybe give yourself half hour, one hour, two hours, whatever that looks like for you and feels right for you. But make a rule about that. And then have your phone in a place where it's not physically tempting to just reach over and look at it, right? So like, I know for me, if the phone is on my nightstand, I'm way more likely, even if I have the best intentions, I am way more likely to pick it up because I have to check one thing that pops into my head or one email or respond to that one message or whatever it is. And then I end up kind of keeping it there and opening up a social media app and doom scrolling or whatever it is or even in the morning if the phone is right next to me when the alarm is going off, snoozing, right? So one thing that you can actually do to help with those habits that you might want to break is to keep your phone on the other side of the room, like charge it in a place where you actually have to physically get out of bed to turn off the alarm or physically get out of bed to pick it up and send that message or reply to that email. And you're not just conveniently reaching for it next to you, even though I know it is so convenient, but getting sucked into that doom scrolling and kind of looking at it, even though your rule says that you're not going to look at it. So make some phone adjustments is tip number two. Tip number three has to do with caffeine. All right, you want to decrease your caffeine and you want to increase your hydration. So I don't know if you know this about me and this may shock you, but I am not a caffeine drinker. Well, I shouldn't say that I drink caffeine, but I don't drink it daily. And it is something that I don't lean on to wake me up every morning. So do I enjoy like a yummy latte every now and then? Absolutely. Do I like a matcha or some fancy, you know, caffeinated drink or even just like a nice cup of coffee? Sometimes I do. I do. But I don't, I don't have the habit of drinking caffeine daily. So I want you to think about, you don't have to go completely like off the rails like me and eliminate caffeine, but you know, maybe limiting your caffeine or thinking about the timing of when you consume your caffeine. Like if you are someone who is reaching for an afternoon coffee, like a 3pm latte or a 3pm pick you up, maybe you want to replace that with something else that's going to give you energy at that time of day instead of coffee that could be messing with your sleep at night, believe it or not. So one tip I'll give you with that is, and I know you're going to think I'm crazy. I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but just listen, give it a try. Give it a try. Don't knock it till you try it. So the tip I'll give you to try it is replace your afternoon coffee with a movement break. I know you're like, that sounds really counterintuitive. Like I'm exhausted. How can I possibly go, you know, for a mile walk or, you know, do a quick 15 minute like YouTube video or something like that. But if you lean into some movement, think about it like it hypes you up. It almost like gives you this effect of more energy, at least for me it does. And so maybe think about doing that, like keep your morning coffee, but maybe replace your afternoon coffee and replace it with some type of movement like a power walk or a quick, you know, video or something like that. The other thing I said here was decreasing caffeine, increasing hydration. I'm a big fan of hydration. I think hydration does wonders for your skin, for your health in general. And I honestly think it does something for your sleep too. Now I'm not a medical doctor. I certainly don't have a scientific background. But I do think hydration is helpful in many parts of your life. And one hack that I do when it comes to hydration, because I find this very challenging to stay hydrated all the time, especially with just like regular water. Because I find whenever I carry around a water bottle, it is inevitable that one of the four children here forget theirs or reach for mine or just, I don't know, just they like they like my water. I don't know what it is. It's regular water you guys, but I don't want to drink it after that. I don't want to drink it after that. There's like lots of kid germs on there. I don't know, backwash, like I don't want it. I don't want it anymore. So anyway, it makes me like chronically de-admirationated. But a trick that I've been doing and leaning into, and I love like the added bonus of not just hydration, but also like the other elements this is giving me is I've been leaning into herb teas. And it's part of kind of like a nightly ritual for me is like a hot cup of herb tea. I know I sound like I'm 1000 years old. But again, don't knock it till you try it. I love it. It's like fun flavors, different, you know, herbs that maybe relax you or give you other benefits, health benefits. And personally, and I'm not like sponsoring or endorsing this company, but like I personally love a good yogi tea because they give you this little affirmation on the tea bag. And so I've created this ritual, like evening ritual that is hydration, affirmation or affirmation hydration. I don't know how I put it. I did some sort of hashtag for it and it's stuck. But it's been a fun way to be part of kind of like my chill out routine at night. Alright, tip number four has to do with your like sleep environment. And so this tip is about creating a very zen sleep space. What does that look like? Well, what does zen feel like look like to you? Is it, you know, dimming the lights? Is it the right temperature in the room? Do you have a noise machine that you really like? Or just some calming music? Maybe there is like a scent in there, like some aromatherapy you want to lean into. So I know lavender, a lot of people lean into that are like eucalyptus. I have a lavender spray and sometimes I will like spray my pillowcase with it before bed and it's just like a really nice way to infuse the space. How is your bedding? Your sheets? Are they comfy? Cozy? Do you need to upgrade them? Do you need to replace them? Do you need a new pillow? Do you, you know, want to check out some sort of like scented candle or diffuser for your space? Like all these things are options that can really create a very relaxing, welcoming, inviting zen sleep space. I know when I had like baby babies at home and it felt like even though your bed is reserved for sleep, it felt like I was doing lots of other things. I was, I was changing diapers on my bed. I was feeding babies in the middle of the night on my bed. I was, you know, they were spitting up in my bed and it did not feel very zen. Like my nightstand was a hot mess with like lots of things I would just reach for and need and it was very convenient, but it did not feel relaxing. And so what sort of like makeover do you need to give your bedroom, your bed, your bedding, all of that stuff? Think about that. All right. Tip number five is about calming your racing mind. And if this is something that keeps you up at night or interrupts your sleep, you are definitely going to want to hear this tip. So one thing that you've heard me talk about before are brain dumps. If you are having a hard time falling asleep, like you have lots of thoughts or lots of, you know, like the ticking tape is just going and going and going in your mind and you can't seem to shut it off. Get literally a pen and piece of paper, nothing fancy and just dump everything that's in your brain onto that pad of paper. Like get it out of here and onto here. And what happens is that just really clears the clutter of things swirling around, floating around in your brain and allows your mind to relax because you've been able to put it somewhere where it can live. It can remind you about it the next day and it doesn't have to keep you up at night. Now I'd be very silly if I didn't talk a little bit about the word to your mama journal planner here because I created that book because it was hard often to go to sleep with all of these looming thoughts and endless to do lists and just lots of stuff juggling as a working mom. And so the nightly ritual is you open up your word to your mama journal planner, you reflect on that day of course and you know, give yourself a pat on the back and see if there are any patterns or things you really want to dig into and explore. And then you also plan for the next day and that's a great way to get things kind of out of the brain onto paper and know where you stand and just be able to chill out. Another quick tip that I know a friend used to do because these these things would literally wake her up in the middle of the night. She would have like a stack of you know, like a post it thing on her night table and a pen. And so if something if like a thought woke her up or she thought of something as she was dozing off she could just jot it down really quick and then clear her mind and go right back to sleep. So tip number five all about calming that racing mind. So tip number six. Okay, so if you're not looking at your phone and maybe you're even taking it to the next level and like not watching TV before bad because you're like no no I don't want any screens any blue light before I go to sleep. What are you doing. Well tip number six you could actually read a physical book read a physical book when's the last time that you did this. This is gonna in my opinion it's going to work your brain and if your brain is already feeling tired, at least for me it gets my brain more tired. Okay, there's just something different about when you're reading a physical book versus something on a screen. And I know some books you're going to argue with me like oh but then I get really into the book it's hard to put down. But you guys I'll be I'll be real with you like even if the book is the best book ever when I open a book I am often so tired like even if it's awesome. I just get this overwhelming calm in my mind, my body, myself, and as intriguing and captivating as the book is. It does really does have that relaxing energy that it brings into my body and my mind and I am able, at least more easily, I think to put the book down and have better sleep than to put the phone down or stop the Netflix show or whatever it is and have just as good sleep. So try and read a physical book honestly and if you need some recs let me know. Okay, tip number seven tip number seven our last tip of the day is has to do with meditation and binaural beats. Okay, so let's talk about this. I was introduced to binaural beats a few years ago when I was doing coaching certification and someone in my class told me about it and I didn't I guess I kind of knew what it was but I didn't know the name of what it was. And so if you've ever been to kind of like a sound bath before where they play the bowls and it just makes these like vibrations and beats and things like that. It's kind of like that but like a recorded version and different beats for different like that trigger different things. And so sometimes I really like to fall asleep to these binaural beats because it's sort of like a non guided meditative experience. You could also lean into an actual guided sleep meditation right there's plenty of them out there. You could just put on some very soothing calming music and have that in the background of your own internal meditation or prayer time or whatever that looks like for you. So I'll give you a couple apps that I have utilized before and I've done these for myself but also sometimes for my kids to if they have trouble falling asleep. So one is the Medito app and that was recommended to me actually by a guest on this show many moons ago and I love it because it's like all these different sleep meditations particularly and you know once it's done it just shuts off and that's it done. And the other one is the brain waves app and that is where I access the binaural beats that I have been telling you about. So meditation binaural beats something to just kind of calm the nervous system clear the mind maybe guide you in deep breathing exercises or just guide you through some sort of visualization to really relax the mind and body for sleep. So I've given you seven tips let's review them really really quick here we talked about creating a sleep schedule. We talked about putting some new and different rules in place with regards to your phone. We talked about caffeine and hydration a Zen sleep space calming the racing mind reading a physical book not a screen and meditation and binaural beats which one of these feels doable this week for you. I want you to think about one one thing you could implement if you are feeling tired if you do feel like you need more or better sleep which one of these tips would work well for you. You know I want to remind you to before we officially wrap up today's episode like this season is not forever so if you do have a newborn if you do you know if you are in a teething phase with your baby if you have a baby you know you're going to have a baby. Are feeling extra stressed right now at work or just regarding you know your living situation or your kids or financial or whatever it is. It's a season and it's going to pass and sleep is going to get better but that doesn't mean we just need to like lay down and be like I guess I just won't sleep till this is over now sleep is so important and getting good and enough sleep is really helpful and necessary for part of your health for how you show up as a mom how you show up as a professor. I'm not as professional as a spouse a wife a friend all of those things it starts with sleep and so I encourage you to take even just one action step this week one tip that you learned from today's episode or if you hated all these tips that's okay find another tip but do something to get more or better sleep. If you are feeling tired and if you know a tired mama friend who could probably benefit from this episode please go ahead and share that with her so that she can listen and she can hopefully take one of those tips or more and get more sleep. So thank you thank you thank you for being here as always I appreciate you I am grateful for you and I hope you get a great night sleep tonight mama. That's a wrap for this episode of the Mama Work It podcast I hope you feel empowered inspired and ready to take your next step. If this episode spoke to you share it with another amazing mama and don't forget to subscribe and leave a review it helps us show up wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to head over to MamaWorkIt.com for free resources coaching support and new ways to mommage your days as a busy mom. Until next time keep on working it mama.
