How to Get Your Sleep Back on Track Post-Childbirth
Having a new baby is going to be a challenge for a number of reasons!
If this is your first child, then some of the difficulties you will encounter may be surprising, but you will soon find ways to adapt and overcome them.
One of the most challenging problems for new parents to deal with is finding ways to get enough sleep.
Why is Sleep an Issue?
When there is a new baby in the house, then it can be tough to get enough sleep. Your new baby will need to be fed every few hours during the first few weeks of their life, and this will obviously require at least one parent to be awake!
It is also not unusual for a baby to want to feed more often than this or to demand your attention in the night for other reasons.
Why is Sleep Important?
Although it’s natural to expect that your sleep will be disrupted, it is important to find ways to ease this issue as much as possible.
Sleep is very important for your own health. When you do not get an adequate amount of sleep, then your body and mind will soon start to show the signs. You can become irritable, exhausted, confused, and unhappy. You might also find that you gain weight when you aren’t sleeping properly, that your memory is affected, and that your concentration is difficult to maintain.
People who do not sleep well for prolonged periods of time can also be at a heightened risk of certain health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, and depression.
How to Sleep Well
As your baby gets older, the issue of disturbed sleep should become less of a problem. This is because your child will stop feeding during the night and start to sleep uninterrupted from the evening until the morning. However, this likely won’t happen until your child is around five or six months old.
During those initial months, it can be helpful for you to sleep when your baby is asleep, even if that means sleeping during the daytime.
You may benefit from enhancing your sleep cycle with sleeping aid medications or with the help of natural products, such as Herbal Health CBD oil. Medications and natural sleep aids can help you to get to sleep easier and to stay asleep for longer, both of which can enable you to feel more refreshed during the hours that you are awake.
It can also be a good idea for you and your partner to sleep in shifts. This means that one of you is on baby duty while the other one is enjoying some good quality undisturbed sleep.
Healthy and Happy
When you have a child to look after, it will seem natural to put your own needs to the very bottom of your priority list. Your instinct is to do the very best for your child, even if that means sacrificing your own health and happiness.
The truth is that taking care of your own needs can help you to be a better parent, as you have more physical energy and emotional capacity to take care of your child.
So, be sure to take steps to get enough sleep and to nourish yourself in other ways, such as through healthy meals and regular self-care.
