Sleep, something we know is oh so important, but in today's world it seems to be more elusive than ever! The demand of everyday life and adulting seems to be continually growing. But, do you know how important sleep actually is?!
✨Sleep is a time when the body can focus on repairing and rejuvenating itself
✨Sleep is vital for cognitive function (helps the brain process and organize information gathered when you're awake)
✨Adequate sleep is crucial for emotional stability and mental health
✨Lack of sleep is associated with a range of physical health problems
✨Sleep is important for a strong and resilient immune system
AND SO MUCH MORE!
It is important to recognize that the quantity and quality of sleep needed can vary among individuals and across different stages of life. Like right now, I’m in the trenches of having a little guy who needs to eat overnight, so I have to adjust as needed! I try to grab a nap during the day if I can or ask for help if I’m feeling rundown.
While adults typically require 7-9 hours of sleep per night, infants, children, teenagers, and older adults may need different amounts.
Chronic sleep deprivation, which occurs when an individual consistently gets less sleep than their body needs, can have detrimental effects on health and well-being. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize sleep! I know we can get caught up in binge watching a tv show or reading one more chapter of a book, but sleep plays a HUGE role in our overall health.
Establishing healthy sleep habits and prioritizing sleep as an essential part of one's daily routine can lead to improved physical and mental health, increased productivity, and a better overall quality of life.
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One thing that has changed since becoming a mom is that my brain never stops anymore. Not to be dramatic, but it can get overwhelming sometimes! Whether I’m trying to relax or sleep at night, I always have a million different thoughts running through my mind.
Sometimes you really want to sleep and yet somehow you just can't shut your mind off. It doesn't always happen when you've just had a baby, but that is definitely a time it has happened for me. I'll be laying there knowing I just need to close my eyes, but then alllllllll the things just keep popping into my mind. Did I eat that yogurt that was going to expire tomorrow? How much water did I drink today? Is my computer unplugged or plugged in? It’s always the most random thoughts!
Before giving birth if I woke up with all of the things going on in my mind I'd just throw some peace and calming essential oil on and my sleep stories from the Calm app and be good to go! But with a little one, that doesn't exactly work (think can't move your body when they're sleeping!) so it's up to my mind to slow down and get back to sleep. Sometimes I try to just focus on one simple thing to quiet my mind.
This is still a great resource to use during the day though when I’m not trying to sleep! I love to apply an oil to help calm my mind like peace and calming or lavender when I need to quiet my mind and breathe. If I have a sleeping baby on me, I can use my app quietly or try to just close my eyes and focus on being still. It can definitely be hard some days, but it’s important to find something that works best for you!
Having a baby is a journey. There are so many emotions that bubble up during this time - feelings of excitement and joy, but also feelings of anxiety and worry! The #1 thing I reminded myself daily was that it’s a normal part of pregnancy and it’s okay to feel all the things. So many women experience different emotions and each pregnancy is different.
The anticipation of birth can have a lot of different feelings show up too. These ebbs and flows in emotions continues through that postpartum time too. Especially if it is your first pregnancy, you have a lot of feelings of unknown because you don’t know what to expect. In terms of postpartum though, when does it really end?
I looked it up one day because I was curious, and there are a lot of different opinions out there to say the least! Some say it lasts always because the definition of the word postpartum is "following childbirth or the birth of young".
Others say when your kids are young, like not yet in their teen years and still others look at it more being that first year of your little one's life being the postpartum time.
No matter what time you definite postpartum as, it's definitely still a different time period in your life than has ever happened before. I truly refer to postpartum as forever because you become a different person when you become a mom.
It is important to remember to give yourself grace, ask for help when you need it and remember to slow down long enough to take each moment of the journey in - the good, the bad, and the ugly! While you are in the thick of it, the days may seem long, but they say the years fly by! And most of all mama, you aren’t alone!
The changes your body goes through from pre-pregnancy to pregnancy to birth then postpartum can be vast and vary from person to person. No matter which phase you are currently in, it is important to recognize that your body is a literal superhero - taking all of these rapid changes in stride and syncing into a new rhythm.
When you’re pregnant your body is seriously is a superhero. (I had to say this many times during my pregnancy and during labor!)
I recently got a massage by a lovely gentleman who I hadn’t had a massage by since right before I found out I was pregnant and it made me think of how much my body has changed since then.
Every woman’s body recovers differently from pregnancy and birth, which sometimes can be hard to deal with. They say if you breastfeed you’ll burn extra calories and that will help you lose the weight but really it’s not as cut and dry as that.
There’s an idea of way back (think more of that live off the land times) that when you're breastfeeding your body holds onto extra weight to make sure that you have enough umph to continue to nourish your little one if things like famine or war come and you are not able to eat as often.
From the science perspective, the hormone prolactin released during breastfeeding tends to reduce the ability to lose weight in some women. This hormone is released every time you nurse and may contribute to weight gain, especially if you are prone to gaining weight anyway.
Knowing these aspects doesn't always make it easier to deal with the fact that I have not lost the 'baby weight' (which duh, this takes time) but I like to go searching for the why behind things to understand a little bit more of what might be going on in my body.
The one area I am most confident in is FOOD. It is not that I know everything (nobody does) but food has been one of my primary tools for healing and having a magical pregnancy (truly I enjoyed being pregnant like 99% of the time), and as I recently mentioned, a BIG deal when it comes to navigating the holidays.
If you find yourself overindulging during the holiday season and you’re looking for a better way to enjoy foods and feel good stick around, I recently put together a holiday food challenge and I will be doing these throughout the upcoming year so keep an eye out for the next one!
As a parent this is something that can be sparse at times, but I want to share with you the importance of sleep for your overall health.
🤣I laugh because sleeping with a new baby is always interesting. We have been really blessed with our little one who sleeps really well plus with bed sharing, oils and a somewhat consistent bedtime, it has allowed us to get more sleep than I've heard other parents get.
Sleep is one of the most important things that we can do in terms of self-care for soooo many reasons.
Here's a few 👇
Sleep is essential for overall health and well-being, and it plays a crucial role in various aspects of our physical, mental, and emotional functioning. Here are some reasons why sleep is important:
1. Restoration and Healing: Sleep is a time when the body can focus on repairing and rejuvenating itself especially in terms of tissues and muscles being repaired and the immune system being strengthened.
2. Cognitive Function: Sleep is vital for cognitive function, including memory consolidation, problem-solving, creativity, and learning.
3. Emotional Well-Being: Adequate sleep is crucial for emotional stability and mental health as a leep deprivation is linked to mood disturbances, irritability, increased stress levels, and a higher risk of developing mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.
4. Physical Health: Lack of sleep is associated with a range of physical health problems, including an increased risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Sleep helps regulate hormones that control appetite and metabolism.
5. Immune Function: Sleep is important for a strong and resilient immune system. It helps the body produce immune cells, antibodies, and other substances needed to fight off infections and illnesses.
6. Energy and Alertness: Getting sufficient sleep enhances daytime alertness, energy, and overall performance. It reduces the likelihood of accidents and errors in daily activities, including driving.
7. Stress Reduction: Sleep is a natural stress reliever. It helps regulate stress hormones, allowing the body and mind to recover from daily stressors.
8. Physical Performance: Athletes and individuals engaged in physical activities benefit from adequate sleep as it contributes to better physical performance, muscle recovery, and coordination.
9. Hormonal Balance: Sleep plays a role in regulating various hormones, including those that control growth, stress response, and reproductive function. Hormonal imbalances can result from chronic sleep deprivation.
10. Longevity: Research suggests that consistent, quality sleep is associated with a longer lifespan and a reduced risk of premature mortality.
Did you know sleep could do all of this?!
P.S. These are benefits we can all benefit from, even if you are not a parent to a baby or young kiddo.
