Can't Sleep?

Why is this clock so mini? Oh well. I can't sleep. I come from a family of non-sleepers. Don't get me wrong, we love to sleep, we just can't. We are therefore also a family of nappers.

Odds are, my Mom was up at least once tonight, and so was my sister. Her normal waking hour is 3 am though. Lately mine has been 4:30. Brutal. Especially when you have a 2 yr old to care for. She is also not a good sleeper. Wakes up several times a night, has baby nightmares. So when she is sleeping and I am not it really bugs me, because it is a rare opportunity to actually have uninterupted sleep!

My FIL does not sleep well at night, and thus has a tendancy to fall asleep in the early evening (like at supper, at the table, right after he has asked you a question. As you start to reply, he will start to snore. This is a true story.)

I have had a lot of things keeping me awake at night, so while I can understand it, I certainly do not enjoy it.

So... I present to you some handy tools.

1. A fan. One winter, sick of waking up in the night with a dry, scratchy throat, we finally hooked ourselves up with a humidifier. Then, come summer when we turned it off, we couldn't sleep. It was too quiet (and/or we could hear our neighbour kids coming home at 3am). So we turn on a fan at night. It helps Hannah sleep too (a grown up version of her Sleep Sheep. Side note: Both my sister and my Mother also have their own personal Gentle Giraffe (Sleep Sheep's friend) to help them sleep. Never heard of these? It's basically a stuffed toy with a soundbox that makes ocean sounds, rain sounds etc to help you sleep. A MUST for babies, and yes, we sell them!)

2. A sleep mask. In the prairies, in the summer, it gets light exceedingly early in the morning (around that 4:30 mark) and also stays light till wayyy late at night (10ish or later). You would be AMAZED at how much better your sleep is in the dark--you think, dark, yeah, I get it, that's what nature intended etc BUT it really helps you get into that deep sleep we all desire. I am a connoisseur of sleep masks. In order for it to help you sleep, it needs to be soft, have an elastic that does not dig into your head nor stretch out (and then slide off your face) and actually do a good job of blocking out light. Most masks are one piece, and have something lame embroidered on them (like DIVA SLEEPING) but THESE are the BEST. (Buy them in store! Personal Expressions!) Adjustable elastic, filled with lavender (but not so strong that it bugs you) and with additional little pillows over the eyes for a total blackout. I love them! In fact, my sister and I both own several. And they are green, men, so you don't have to feel weird wearing them either. Try it on the plane (super) or in the car (as a passenger, to avoid that annoying driving-into-the-sun brightness) or in the daytime when you need a nap. Love it.

3. A cool room. We have a 2-story (which I would never do again) and the top floor is hard to temperature regulate. Too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer (have to air condition the hell out of the whole house to get it to sleepable temperature upstairs). We have grobag egg upstairs to make sure the temp is comfortable for Hannah (very important) so we can see when it's getting too warm up here. It is SHOCKING how better we all sleep when the temp is lower (but not cold enough to freeze your nose off). My parents always open their windows at night (even in winter!) but being in the city we get too much traffic noise and often it is not cool enough in the summer, too cold in the winter.

So, with those tips, I bid you adieu. It's now 6:00 and although I am getting tired now, my kid will be up soon.