Each day this Mother's Day weekend, we'll be offering an article aimed specifically at helping the fabulous moms in our lives sleep better. Noise is the number one contributor to sleeplessness, as any woman who's tried to share a bed with a chronic snorer will tell you! So from general tips for helping her get a good night's rest, to a two-part guide on sleeping with a snoring bed partner, this weekend is all about Mom here at Ear Plug Superstore.
Mother's Day Special: Tips To Help Mom Get Better Sleep
There is no doubt about it: being a mom is hard.
Moms take care of us, they support us, they nurse us when we're sick, and they continue the work of motherhood long after we're no longer wearing diapers that need changing. On Mother's Day, we celebrate our moms and our wives, and we show our love for all the special, hard-working women in our lives. And as part of that celebration, I'd like to share with you a gift that you can give your favorite female this Mother's Day that won't cost you a dime: better sleep.
The facts are in: we simply are not getting enough sleep. A few lucky souls sleep like a happy baby, and some suffer from insomnia virtually every night -- but thanks to stress, traffic noise, lumpy mattresses, and husbands who snore like jackhammers, it's safe to bet that our moms are spending too many restless nights unable to fall asleep or stay asleep. And missing sleep isn't just irritating; it can cause stress, health problems, and really make you feel terrible.
So this mother's day, help the hard-working mom in your life get the sleep she needs and deserves! Here are five tips you can share with your mom to give her the gift of sleep this mother's day.
1. Help her cut out the afternoon caffeine. Coffee, energy drinks, tea, soda pop, and even chocolate all contain amounts of the drug, and it's easy to get more of it than we realize. The effects of caffeine can last for hours, even after that initial buzz has worn off. Help mom cut down on her caffeine intake after noon, and she'll be sleeping better by nightfall.
2. Help mom exercise. It's hard to stay fit, and nothing helps like having a loved one help you stay on the horse. Go with mom to the gym or just take walks together, and those little aches and pains that keep her awake will start to fade, letting her get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer. Don't exercise right before bed, as this can make it hard to sleep; earlier in the day is better. And if mom doesn't have time to exercise, or if she's older or otherwise unable to walk or work out comfortably, then advise her to stretch for a few minutes before bed.
3. Don't fight just before bed. Whether she's your mom or the mother of your children, you're bound to have conflicts from time to time -- just work hard to make sure that time isn't right before she's trying to go to sleep! Plan your arguments for early in the day. Going to bed angry is always a bad idea for sleep’s sake. Sometimes you can get your angry spouse to agree to postpone the discussion until morning or lunch the next day without either of you having to give in or lose the argument. As a bonus, if you can both agree to postpone the argument, it may even be less stressful when you finally do get around to it. At least you will both have had a better night’s sleep than you would have had if you kept at it until the fight was resolved.
4. Make it dark where she sleeps. Humans are hard-wired to function in the daytime. Accordingly, we do not do well trying to sleep when it is light outside. (Those of you who have worked the night shift know about this in dreadfully real terms.) Make sure there are no lights to disturb mom's sleep; it's not just uncomfortable, but light seriously decreases the quality of sleep she'll get. Her best sleep will always happen in the dark. If mom doesn't have shades or curtains for her windows, try getting her to wear a comfy sleep mask. She'll sleep much, much better, and she'll feel like a movie star.
5. Eliminate or reduce the noise in mom's bedroom, and try to stop that snoring. Just like we will always sleep better in the dark, we will sleep better when it is quiet, too. This is a difficult one for many moms, especially those whose husbands snore! My best advice to you is to try the above tips on this list first: most of them will help with snoring as well as with getting a good night’s rest. Once you have tried these and the snoring persists, there are a world of snoring remedies available--but be wary. These options fall roughly into three categories: sprays, drugs and supplements, and mechanical devices or surgeries. Some of these remedies may help some people, but none of these will help everyone -- and our customers tell us that all of these snoring “miracle cures,” even the surgeries, eventually fail as long-term solutions. Always be careful with drugs and unregulated “food supplements,” which can be downright dangerous. If snoring is what's keeping the special mom in your life from getting her beauty rest, stay tuned -- this weekend, we'll be following up with more tips to help mom sleep with snoring or use white noise to block out that dream-stomping sound.
To sum up, remember that sleep is crucial for our health, happiness, and well-being. And no one deserves the joy of real rest and rejuvenation more than our hard-working moms. So this Mother's Day, don't just get her flowers and a card -- well, do get her those, she'll probably like them. But also give her the gift of blissful, peaceful, life-improving sleep!
It's free, and unlike flowers, it could actually change her life.
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