We suck at sleep
...yet we're all, obviously, incredibly good in bed.
It may be because my parents started cry-it-out the night they brought me home from the hospital (true story), but I am a solid sleeper--21 days of the month, anyway. After I had my second kid and we got the kids sleeping regularly, my body thought it would be cute to wake me up with night sweats and general insomnia in the days leading up to my period. At least I know I’m not alone? An awful lot of my witchy mom pals do not have a good relationship with sleep and have tried…a lot of things to get to a better place.
Here, I collated some of the many methods some of you use to grab a few hours of sleep per night. Then I ran them by Dr. Julie Friedman, PhD, a clinical psychologist (and mom of two) in Chicagoland who did a fellowship on sleep disorders, to hear what works, what is b.s., what is temporary, and what might be dangerous (tonight on your nightly news, after this break).
Over-the-counter:
Rx:
No counter:
Other witches swear by mind tricks like switching sleeping locations after a middle of the night wakeup, or turning to a soothing audiobook: “It's like a paci for me, so I don't have to get into my own head.” Many subscribe to sleep hygiene methods, like cutting down on caffeine and getting regular exercise. That, Friedman supports. “The sensory stuff--eye mask, white noise machine, fan. That all works. There is a lot of good data showing that it helps to replace your mattress, getting good pillows.” Essentially, if it’s not a drug and it feels good, use it, whether it’s your weighted blanket or special blue blocker glasses for nighttime screens. Finally, a hot shower 9 minutes before bed really helps, Friedman says: “If your body warms up and cools down rapidly, there is a sleep-inducing effect of your body cooling down.”
If you have other methods or medications you have questions on, let us know and maybe we’ll do a follow up. Get some rest!
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I hope you enjoyed this issue of Evil Witches, a newsletter for people who happen to be mothers. You can follow us and talk to us on Twitter here. If you know someone who'd like this sort of thing in their inbox a couple times a week, please spread the word. If you want to shoot any general questions or have suggestions for future newsletters, just shoot us an email (you can reply right to this newsletter.) You can follow us on Instagram too. If you found the information in today’s issue helpful I hope you consider supporting the reporting (and the rhyming) and upgrade to a paid subscription, if you haven’t already, please:
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