Never did I realize the true impact of sleep deprivation as I did after the birth of Harper (it happened after Camille too, but I was just much more prepared)…. and it wasn’t until then that I realized how paramount a good night’s rest/sleep was to a fully functioning Shannon. I mean, I can operate at 90% with one bad night of sleep, but if that day turns into multiples, then I’m operating at well below 50%.

I recently read somewhere that sleep deprivation impacts memory, mental health (knew that one already), mood, and immunity just to name a few… and while I could have figured that out all on my own just based on my personal experience, seeing it in a medical document solidified it for me.

Over the past several years I’ve really worked to improve my sleep. My main concern was initially falling asleep, but then when we had the girls, it turned into falling asleep and falling back to sleep if awakened in the middle of the night. So today I’m sharing what I do, nightly, to obtain a good, restful, night of sleep (interruptions from little ones excluded….).

PRIOR TO BED

CBD Soft Gels: I’ve talked about my experience with CBD products more in depth in this post, but this has been the biggest game changer for me over the past 8 months. It used to take me so long to fall asleep at night. It was as if the minute my head hit the pillow, no matter how tired I was, my brain decided it was time to wake up and think about everything that needed to get done, didn’t get done, and everything in between.

When I started taking CBD things shifted, for the better. It now takes me about 20 minutes to fall asleep (and I’d say I can fall asleep within 20 minutes 98% of the time…) and my sleep is deep and restorative. Yet, I’m not groggy, and if it’s my night to wake up with the girls (TJ + I switch off every other night so that no single person becomes sleep deprived if it’s a bad week) I can do so easily and then drift back to sleep quickly.

I take one soft gel around 8pm (about 1.5 to 2 hours before bed) and then right before I hop into bed I use a 1/2 dropped full of the CBD oil. The gels are a slow release and last around 6-8 hours, which is why I take them a couple of hours before bed, to give them time to release in my system. The oil is a quick release, quick effect so taking a little under my tongue, right before bed, gives me a little boost. I also recently recommended CBD to my sister for her migraines (she was in the middle of one) and she rubbed the oil on her forehead and took a full dropper of the oil under her tongue and she said that within 45 minutes she was feeling so much better.

I use Equilibria, for so many different reasons, and they’re currently having a special of an additional 15% off site-wide + it can be combined with my 15% off discount as well… so it’s about 30% off. If you’ve been wanting to try, this is a great offer.

Cut Off Social Media: Going down the rabbit hole of social media is never good for quieting my mind. I have a hard “no social media after 8pm” rule. I typically put my phone out of reach so I’m not even tempted… this has made a big difference in just calming my mind and not giving it anything else to think about….

Relaxing Activity: So instead of social media I opt for something more relaxing. What that activity looks like differs each evening depending on what the day entailed. Sometimes it’s just a lighthearted movie that makes me laugh and other times it’s getting lost in a good book. Either way, both help me to unwind from the day and get my mind and body into rest mode.

BEDTIME ENVIRONMENT

Weather Appropriate Clothing: Pretty self explanatory here. In the cooler months I wear pants and a long sleeve shirt and in the warmer months it’s shorts + a tee. I’ve found that wearing the right clothing makes all the difference… nothing too baggy that will twist around my body and become uncomfortable at night and nothing too tight.

Cool Bedding: My bedding impacts me so much. If the material isn’t soft or doesn’t keep me cool I’m guaranteed a more challenging evening of sleep. We currently sleep with these organic cotton sheets (which are super comfortable and keep us nice and cool) as well as this linen duvet cover. I can’t recommend both more.

Dark Room: Just like for Harper + Camille, I make sure our room is super dark when we sleep. It’s always amazing to me how easily light can impact my sleep…. so our blinds have blackout liners on them and all clocks + electronic lighting is either covered or turned off so it doesn’t illuminate the room.

Silence: This is a little trickier, since we have two monitors in our room, both playing ocean waves white noise for the girls. Yet, I use ear plugs, which drowns out the noise but still allows me to hear a cry from Camille or a call from little miss for someone to take her to the bathroom. Without the ear plugs I can guarantee my night of sleep will not be restful.

Room Temperature: Room temperature is another big factor for me… and being hot is a sure way to disrupt my sleep. I read somewhere that the ideal sleeping temperature for a room is somewhere between 60-67 degrees, and while our room is not that cold by any means, we seem to have found an optimal room temperature that works for us.