Are You a Sleepy Mom?

According to a recent survey, more than half of mothers aren't getting enough sleep. Are you one of them?

Getting enough sleep is important, because you need rest to be a good parent. Sleepless moms reported most often staying up thinking about tomorrow's to-do list, worrying over family issues, and stressing over the family's finances.

As you might expect, full-time outside-the-house-job working moms were among the worst affected. They reported suffering from lack of sleep fifty-nine percent of the time; compare that to forty-eight percent of stay-at-home moms.

And those sleepy moms aren't getting the help they need. While a full fifty percent of working moms admitted to getting six or fewer hours of sleep each night, four out of five of them haven't talked to their doctors or considered using a prescription sleep medications.

But some cite good reason for avoiding sleep medications. Almost thirty percent reported that they feared they could become addicted to such medicine, and stated a concern that they wouldn't be alert enough to respond if their children needed them during the night.

While these concerns are certainly valid, they leave many moms in a constant state of sleepiness. That state cause trigger additional problems, such as depression and arthritis, which are already more common in women that in men.

So what can a sleepy mom do to improve her sleep-quality? Here are some tips:

* Keep your bedtime and wake time the same seven days a week.

* Make your sleeping area for sleep only. Don't read, watch television, sort laundry, etc. on the bed.

* Make your your brain recognize that this is the 'sleeping spot'.

* Avoid consuming alcohol and/or caffeine after 3pm.

* Develop a bedtime 'wind down' routine, to trigger your body that it's time to rest. Just like the bath-story-feeding-lights out routine you did when your kids were little, your grown-up body can be trained the same way.

* Make your sleeping area dark, cool, and quiet. Remove all the distractions you possibly can, so that there isn't anything external to grab your mind's attention just as you're drifting off.

If, despite every effort, you find that you're still having difficulty falling asleep, waking up often during the night and then having trouble getting back to sleep, waking up too early, or finding you never seem to feel refreshed in the morning, talk to your doctor. You may need professional help to correct a sleep problem, so that you can be the well-rested and capable mom your kids deserve.

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