14 Washington FAMILY MAY 2021
“Between the ages
of 25 to 69, women
disproportionately experience shorter sleep
duration and greater
sleep fragmentation.”
DR. CHRISTINE SPADOLA
Both recommend keeping a worry
journal as an outlet for that stress. Just
jotting down bullet points can help, but
Paruthi notes that one shouldn’t journal too
close to bedtime.

Creating a peaceful mood before going
to sleep can also help alleviate stress.

Moms, like babies, benefit from a regular
bedtime routine, says Spadola. That could
mean playing relaxing music, doing a bit of
light stretching or yoga or breathing in the
smell of lavender before crawling under
the covers.

And all of us would sleep better if we
turned off our phones.

“Holding a screen close ... emits blue light
into the eye,” says Spadola. Essentially, “the
light is telling us to wake up.”
There are blue light filters on phones you
can use as well as blue light filtering glasses
— Paruthi says inexpensive pairs are just
as good as the higher-priced options — but
Spadola cautions that these filters can only
do so much. The ideal solution is to turn the
phone off altogether.

By the way, blue light isn’t the only
problem that comes from using your phone
before going to sleep.

“Doom-scrolling” — the practice of
reading through copious amounts of bad
FIZKES/ISTOCK; CLOCK: AYIMAGES/E+/GETTY IMAGES PLUS
significantly greater prevalence of insomnia
in women than in men.

Good sleep can feel frustratingly elusive
for mothers, but there are ways to boost
both the amount and quality of your
slumber. If you can implement any of these
sleep tips, you may just be giving yourself
the best Mother’s Day gift of all: the gift of a
good night’s rest.

The biggest challenge may be shifting
your mindset. For many moms, staying up
late feels like an act of self-preservation.

“Moms report that their day is not their
own,” says Spadola, so they stay up late
to enjoy the solitude. Alternatively, they
may believe they’re more productive at
night when their homes are quiet. Yet the
research supports the opposite, according
to Spadola. “When we sleep better, we’re
more efficient,” she says.

Moms, like all adults, need at least seven
hours of sleep a night for optimal health,
says Shalini Paruthi, a sleep specialist and
member of the American Academy of Sleep
Medicine. Getting much less on a regular
basis is associated with numerous “adverse
health outcomes,” according to the AASM,
including obesity, diabetes, hypertension,
heart disease, depression and an overall
increased risk of death. Parents often
find poor sleep impedes their caregiving
abilities, says Paruthi. Her patients often
tell her, “When I’m sleep deprived, it’s really
hard for me to function as a mom.”
Fortunately, there’s much you can do to
get more sleep, though some advice may be
easier to follow than others.

Spadola says maintaining a regular sleep
schedule — both when you go to bed and
when you wake up — is the most important
thing you can do for your circadian
rhythm, the internal process that regulates
our sleep-wake cycle.

On this point, Paruthi recommends
setting an alarm in the evening as a
reminder to start getting ready for bed. As
for moms who feel like they have to stay up
late to do chores, Paruthi suggests letting
the kids share the burden during the day
so you can get the R & R you need in the
evening. “Dividing up that work is, I think,
really important,” she says.

Stress is another common roadblock for
moms who want more sleep.

“A lot of times, we have sleep
fragmentation or insomnia in the middle of
the night because we have unresolved stress
from the day,” Spadola says.

Paruthi agrees. “Moms have a lot of
chatter in their brain, like 24-seven,”
she says.




The best Mother’s Day
gift of all: the gift of
a good night ’s rest.

news — can heighten anxiety before bed.

Paruthi suggests trying to schedule phone
time earlier in the day, whether for reading
the news or listening to your favorite
podcasts, so you aren’t tempted at night.

What you do during the day matters, too.

Skip naps, but if do you need one, keep it
short and early in the day, says Spadola.

Getting regular exercise, a huge mood
booster on its own, can also do wonders for
your sleep, adds Paruthi. And limit alcohol
and caffeine, particularly at night, but also
later in the day.

Ultimately, think of your bedroom as a
“sleep sanctuary,” says Spadola. Keep it cool
— research suggests the ideal temperature
for sleep is between 65 and 72 degrees, says
Paruthi — quiet and dark. Blackout shades
are extremely effective, but an eye shade
works just as well. (On the flip side, let light
in as soon as you wake up, so that you feel
awake when you need to be.) White noise
machines work well for some patients, too.

Finally, leave your work outside of the
bedroom, says Spadola. Of course, that
can be especially challenging these days, as
many bedrooms double as work stations.

If that applies to you, try using a dividing
screen to separate your bed from your
working area.

Mattingly is constantly working on
improving the sleep situation at home,
knowing how critical it is for her to take
care of herself so she can be at her best to
take care of the children. “You know how
you should always put on your own oxygen
mask first? I think it really rings true,”
she says. T
Jenny Splitter is a science journalist and a
co-founder of SciMoms, an evidence-based blog
for parents and caregivers. She lives in the
H Street NE neighborhood of Washington,
D.C., with her husband, two kids,
a cat and a dog.

WashingtonFAMILY.com 15