As a new mother, I remember being the most tired I had ever felt in my entire life. Even when I trained as a collegiate athlete and went to school full time, I was never as tired then as when I became a mom. Becoming a mom is a true job in itself and I realized my lack of sleep was affecting me in all areas of my day. It led to my lack of patience, food cravings, weight gain, and even feeling numb some days as a mother or spouse. I often turned to drinking coffee all day and eating junk food that gave me that little bursts of energy just to keep up. Never once realizing how much my daily habits were affecting my sleep patterns!
Daily Habits
What we do and what we eat during the day can make or break our sleep cycle. With excess caffeine and sugar, I was destined to an evening of self medicating just so I could fall asleep! I decided to take control over my daily habits so I wouldn't need that afternoon Sonic drink or candy bar! Now, I set my daily habits up much like small goals throughout my day. I actually write them down as a checklist in my phone so I can refer back to them. This checklist is what keeps me accountable and is something I turn back to and tweak as I need.
Let's be Clear
To be clear, I may not complete ALL the items on my checklist each day, but these items are what I strive to achieve. I started with 3 and added goals as I could. The percentage at the end of the week or 3 days is what’s important. Tracking the outcome, I learned, is not meant to make me FEEL bad, it’s just DATA to see what improvements need to be made the following day / week. Collecting data are facts, and can only help you if you allow it to.
The List
Everyone's checklist will be different. Some items on my daily checklist I have found to help me sleep at night include:
Pack Real Food for lunch and Snacks. When I work full days in town I tend to snack... and the options from the break room aren't always the best choices!
Consume 80 ounces to 1 gallon of water. Water helps to flush out toxins and waste which I need daily!
Eat breakfast before 9 am with REAL food helps to jumpstart the metabolism. Anyone else tend to grab a nutrition bar or a handful of cereal out the door? Without a solid breakfast cravings creep in!
Consume my Energizing Red juice and Whole Food Supplements before 2pm. I need my energy, and I have found a way to maintain it without all the caffeine.
Move in some way. Movement has been a major factor to helping me sleep more sound at night. I often MOVE in the mornings to create energy in my body for the day.
Night/evening routine. This has been a huge success and has helped me fall asleep and stay asleep.
In Part 2 I will be sharing tips and tricks on how to create and conquer a night time routine for busy moms.
Share an item from your checklist that you know will lead to better sleep!
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