Ahhhhh . . . a good night’s sleep. And last night I finally enjoyed one, after a nearly two-month stint of my toddler waking frequently each night due to teething. Beyond loaning your sleepless toddler out to friends for the night, how can a good night’s sleep be assured?
Probably it can’t. Or should I say unfortunately it can’t. Oh, what I wouldn’t do to know I could sleep eight straight hours every night (says the very tired mom . . . ).
Don’t fret along with me yet — this article has some simple tips to help you create the environment needed for a good sleep. And if you don’t have a toddler, you might stand a fighting chance.
One common suggestion is included here — use your bedroom for sleeping only. Not as an office, exercise room, TV room or anything else but a sleeping room. Other been there, done that suggestions are included too.
But the tips that really hit home for me were the ones that I read about in all of the “how to get your children to sleep” books. And in the past two years, I think I have read them all, folks. But I digress. It does makes sense for the things that work for kids to work for adults too.
For example, set a bedtime routine and stick with it. This will give your body time to pick up the signals that bedtime is soon to come, and hopefully your body will relax in response. Make sure the light, temperature and noise levels in your room all work for you. Some people need white noise, others like to hear household sounds. I like to sleep in a cold room with lots of blankets on, other may like a warmer room with lighter blankets.
Whatever your preferences, make them a habit and routine and do them every night. If you aren’t teething, they should work to help you drift off into slumberland.
Author by Debra McDuffee
