6 Ways To Improve Your Sleep Quality And Feel More Rested

Many working moms suffer from poor quality sleep and the effects of sleep deprivation. That’s not very surprising – between the responsibilities of work and motherhood, it can be hard to get a good night’s rest.

Stress, anxiety, endless to-do lists, and daily family demands add up to make sleeping challenging for working moms. As a result, we get less hours than we should and the quality of our sleep suffers – we wake up more often at night, have difficulty falling and staying asleep, and feel less rested after sleeping. That leads to a cycle of increased emotional and physical stress, cognitive problems, and the potential for burnout.

Getting to bed earlier can be one solution to our sleep problem, but that’s not always realistic. The good news is, even if we can’t get to bed early, we might be able to do something about the quality of our sleep.

The Importance Of Sleep Quality

Sleep quality is one component of sleep, along with sleep quantity, sleep consistency, and sleep satisfaction. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep quality includes the following:

Sleep latency – the time it takes to fall asleep
Awakenings – how many times you wake up at night
Wake after sleep onset – how long you are awake after falling asleep
Sleep efficiency – ratio of time asleep to time laying in bed

Sleep quality is important for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Poor quality sleep can lead to:

Increased fatigue and tiredness during the day
Reduced focus and difficulty concentrating
Increased difficulty regulating our emotions and staying calm
Choosing less healthy foods and weight gain
Emotional and physical burnout if sleep problems become chronic

Good sleep quality supports our health and gives us the energy we need to function throughout the day. Improving the quality of our sleep can have a major impact on our quality of life, physical health, and overall well-being.

6 Ways To Improve Sleep Quality

1. Limit screen time before bed

All of our phones, tablets, and electronic devices emit a type of light called blue light, which studies show can interrupt both the quality and duration of our sleep. In the daytime, blue light actually promotes alertness and makes us feel more awake. But when we maintain that exposure into the evening, it could have unwanted effects – we stay awake longer, spend less time in the deep phase of sleep, and feel less rested the following day. Finding ways to limit exposure to our phones, tablets, and televisions as much as possible before bed can help prevent nighttime disruptions and promote a more restful night’s sleep.

2. Try herbal tea

Some herbal teas have sedative effects that can help us to fall asleep faster and improve the quality of our sleep. Unlike traditional tea – black, green, white, and oolong – herbal teas don’t have any caffeine. Herbs contain many plant compounds that interact with chemicals in our bodies to promote sleep and relaxation, but exactly how they work is pretty complex and not well-understood. Just be mindful not to drink too much of any liquid too close to bedtime, as waking up in the middle of the night to pee obviously can disrupt sleep. Some examples of sleep-inducing herbal teas to try include:

Valerian
Chamomile
Lemon balm
Mulberry
Lavender

3. Practice mindfulness, a gratitude exercise, or meditate

You probably know how much your mental state can significantly impact the ability to fall asleep and the overall quality of your sleep. Anxiety and stress, which is common among working moms, can make it difficult to relax at night. Practicing mindfulness, gratitude, or meditation before bed can help bring our bodies and minds into a restful state, easing anxiety and preparing us for sleep.

4. Exercise

Exercise has many health benefits and can have significant effects on our overall well-being. Exercise can also help improve our sleep by regulating our sleep-wake cycles, helping us fall asleep faster (and sleeping longer), and managing stress, all of which are important for quality sleep. Working moms may not always have the time for long bouts of exercise, but even short exercise sessions can help improve sleep quality.

The type, intensity, and timing of exercise matters too. Exercising earlier in the day (or more than 4 hours before bedtime) doesn’t negatively affect sleep quality. If you’re exercising later in the evening, stick to light or moderate-intensity exercise. Research shows that high-intensity exercise within 4 hours of bedtime can delay sleep onset and negatively affect sleep quality.

You can also do short, regular bouts of light exercise in the evenings. This study suggested that 3-minute sessions of light bodyweight exercise (chair, squats, calf raises, and standing knee raises with straight leg hip extensions) every 30 minutes in the evening can improve sleep quantity and quality.

5. Practice good sleep hygiene

Practicing good sleep hygiene means making changes to your environment and evening habits to create a space that supports good sleep. It’s helpful for those of us who have trouble sleeping; by signaling to our bodies and brains that it’s time to relax, we fall asleep faster and get a more restful night’s sleep. If you have trouble turning your brain off at night, improving your sleep hygiene habits can be helpful. Good sleep hygiene habits could include things like:

Making sure your room is set to a comfortable temperature, turning off all lights, minimizing external noises
Limiting blue light from screens before bed
Going to bed around the same time every day
Habitually doing a relaxing evening routine like drinking a cup of herbal tea or engaging in self-care
Meditating, practicing gratitude, or practicing mindfulness to relax and calm your mind before bed
Doing light stretches or breathing exercises in the evening
Not eating large amounts of food and drink before bedtime

6. Limit nighttime food and drink close to bedtime

Sometimes the day goes by so fast that the only time I can sit down to eat is after my son goes to bed. It’s not ideal, but the other option would be to stay hungry. On those nights I eat late, I definitely notice my sleep is not great, especially if I’ve eaten a large meal.

It’s okay to have small amounts of food or drink before bed, but if you consume too much, you might risk sleep interruptions due to stomach discomfort or needing to use the bathroom. Generally, you want to limit your fluid intake to no more than a glass of water and stop eating at least 2 hours before bed to minimize nighttime awakenings.

Among the many challenges that working moms face, poor quality sleep is a common one. Anxiety, stress, and never-ending to-do-lists often make getting a good night’s rest difficult. We may not always be able to get 7-9 hours of sleep, but we may be able to improve our sleep quality, which is an important component of sleep. Improving our sleep quality can help us feel more rested and ready for the day, support our physical and emotional well-being, and improve our overall health.