The idea of sleeping for 8 hours for a mother is in the same categorical fantasy as winning the lottery or waking up next to Mark Wahlberg circa 1992 Calvin Klein campaign days!
What we really want for Mother's Day may not be what you would expect, in all seriousness we have become women of organisation and practicality and although breakfast in bed & a massage voucher always makes the day special, how many times can you do that! Thoughtful yes... one could argue that it’s a practical gift but is it a lasting one? The gift of a lifetime of sleep is what we really want and we’re here to tell you that, it's not too far away... Having your baby sleep through the night is the ultimate gift for mums, see here if you would like to skip straight to getting the world's most successful sleeping aid and remember even though this is technically for the babies' room it's not only for mama but also all other household members that would love that extra bit of shut eye.
How sleep deprivation affects mothers
Mothers really underestimate the importance of getting enough sleep, its hard though when your advised to have a warm bath before bed or wind down with a good book, that’s all well and good but doesn’t change the fact that you still have to get up to your child at night! So, we propose that you do the bath and read the book but also focus on getting your child to sleep better throughout the night which will then of course have mum improve her sleep.
We really need to start seeing sleep as something that is of great importance to our health, it doesn't help that as a culture, we tend to look down on sleep. Getting too much or even just enough implies that our role as a mother is somehow lesser than. Some sleep-deprived mothers take pride in doing too much and sleeping too little, trading war stories of sleepless nights with other mums at the park. But getting enough sleep is as important as diet and exercise.
Not getting enough sleep has been linked to all sorts of problems for parents such as poor performance at work, obesity, diabetes, excessive risk-taking behaviour and heart disease.
Generally, if you pick a disease or health problem and read the medical text you will probably see that it will be made worse if the patient doesn’t have an adequate amount of sleep.
Having that zombie effect can also interfere with your facial expressions and the message your brain sends, being able to form sad expressions may not transmit as well and although for some this may mean they are happy that they may not have to have as many Botox jabs. For most being able to express your feelings is something you don’t want to give up on. Plus, you're more likely to have some of the following symptoms so maybe that cosmetic nurse visit won't be so cheap after all: such as redder eyes, hanging eyelids, swollen eyes, darker circles under the eyes, pale skin, more wrinkles around the eyes, and droopy corners of the mouth.
What mothers can do to help their quality of sleep
Be prepared. When you've got small kids, getting woken up in the middle of the night can be more the rule than the exception. Don't routinely go to bed at midnight, gambling on your baby sleeping soundly every night. You're going to lose. (Unless you have a Glow Dreaming Sleeping Aid of course ;) In the long-run, you'll just keep piling on to your sleep debt.- Take naps. Although sleep experts advise against naps for most people with insomnia, they say sleep-deprived mothers should ignore that advice.
- Catch up on sleep during the weekend. Many sleep-deprived mothers -- stuck between their responsibilities as worker, parent, and home-runner -- feel like there's simply no way to get enough sleep during the week. If so, you have to use the weekends to your advantage, If you can. Ask your spouse if they would like to have one day to sleep in while the other wrangles the kids and vice versa.
- Help your child sleep more soundly. If they are sleeping more then so are you so take advantage.
- Relax before bed. You might have military precision bedtime rituals for your kids: a bath, story time, songs, hugs, a sip of water, one more song, a pat on the back, one more sip of water, and one last song. But you might have nothing for yourself, the sleep-deprived mother. That’s a mistake! Yes, you’re still going to probably have to wake in the night but the alone time just for you can at least help with your mental well-being.
Combining the key features of sleep therapy:
Aromatherapy Created and made by world leading paediatric specialist Dr Bo Hendgen Glow Lullaby is a medicinal grade essential oil designed especially for children to calm the mind and relax the muscles. Humidifier Glow Dreaming’s humidifier has been uniquely designed with cool mist technology to help ease breathing, prevent snoring, stop the spread of airborne viruses and maintain a more even room temperature. Pink noise Pink noise has been scientifically proven to actually enhance brain activity that’s associated with the deep phases of sleep as well as improve memory retention and focus. Red light therapy Red LED light therapy has been proven to stimulate the bodies melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain that relaxes the body and tells us it’s time for sleep. Let your special mama know that not only are you there for her but we are too! Our services extend into providing a free service where customers can engage with our sleep specialist, expressing their individual concerns. So that bubs and the rest of the household can sleep more soundly each and every night. Ok now giving an awesome gift is of course great but here we also have some other ways you can make the day extra special
Extra ideas to make this Mother’s Day even more special
- Don’t make them spend the whole day with their kids, they’ve done so much of it and love it but if you organised something for them where they can have some alone time that would be wonderful...even if it's just for an hour...Heaven!
- Extend the breakfast in bed to doing the chores for the day
- Let them have an extra-long shower with no disturbances
- Surprise her with something the day before, you may have to convince her though that you didn’t get the day wrong but she’ll love that you’ve thought of extending the celebration.
- Do something nice together as a family that’s for a good cause, throughout Australia we have the Mother's Day Classic it’s a walk or run for breast cancer research. If you're in Australia you can check it out here
- Many eateries will have Mother's Day specials but be sure to book, they can fill up quickly, click here for some ideas
- Let her explore a passion project, get out the dusty camera or sketch pad
- High Tea luncheon
- Craft making – this is extra cute for the little ones to make a special gift
- Go on a road trip and visit a winery
- Go to the movies – But...not to watch the latest Marvel movie unless that’s what's she’s into, book a romantic comedy.
- Get pampered
- Do something active together – Go hiking or do a yoga class
- Glamping!
- Go on a karaoke night out, think of all the times she's embarrassed you and just think... this is a place that makes it totally acceptable to sing loudly in public
- Ever heard of those games' women play at hen's parties were the maid of honour has asked the husband to be all these questions about the bride to see how well he knows her? Well wouldn’t it be fun to mix things up and play that type of a game at home with the family! Ask each family member that’s playing some questions about mum and then laugh together later as you go through them with her.
- Have a professional photo shoot done
- Scavenger hunt – get your mother on her hand and knees and digging for that piece of jewellery you know she wants! Would make for a great home video!
- Netflix binge session while you clean
- Go to the botanical gardens for a family picnic
- Create a herb garden together
We hope we have helped you plan the ultimate Mother's Day for your special lady, we would love to hear how it went. Head over to one of our social pages and let us know!