10 Sleeping Tips For New Parents

If there’s one thing new parents need, it’s more sleep. Not just more sleep but high-quality sleep. Some real shut eye. The kind where you feel fully recharged upon waking. Roughly 70 million US adults experience sleep issues. We want to share 10 sleeping tips for new parents.

New Parents Find Improved Sleep When They:

• Reduce the time it takes to get to sleep.

• Increase sleep duration throughout the night.

One tip to consider when looking for better sleep as a new parent is to accept offers from others to help. Whether from friends or family, say yes to the opportunity of getting assistance. This translates to a healthier mental and physical well-being to keep you on your “A” game.

10 Sleeping Tips For New Parents

1. Magnesium – Magnesium is one of those solid building blocks that makes all human beings thrive. Magnesium does so many incredible things for your body. In addition to relaxing the muscles and nerves, it’s used for blood pressure regulation, required for the synthesis of DNA, RNA and a myriad of other benefits.

The average adult contains about 25g of magnesium (50%-60% in bones and soft tissue). The National Institute of Health recommends a daily allowance that varies depending on your age. Using this as a sleeping aid can also bring about better mood, better skin, hair, teeth and nails.

We recommend the Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Whole Food Magnesium. It’s non-GMO vegan, gluten and sugar free with probiotics. Taken about an hour before bedtime, we get deeper, longer lasting sleep and wake up feeling refreshed. The raspberry lemon is the best tasting.

2. Black Seed Oil – Otherwise known as black cumin seed oil or nigella sativa oil, this is extracted from the small black seeds of the flowering Nigella Sativa plant originating from Southwest Asia. The Thymoquinone-rich black cumin seed has been studied in contrast to sleep problems in recent studies.

Findings from the Journal of Herbal Medicine revealed significant growth in total sleep time, sleep latency and sleep efficiency. The study revealed an increase of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) of 82% and an increase of 29% in REM sleep. For contrast, 75% of nighttime sleep we’re in NREM phase and 25% of the time we’re in REM sleep phase. Secondary findings indicated reduced levels of anxiety and stress.

3. Exercise & Physical Activity – Sleep is an essential time when your body gets to repair itself. A great way to recruit a deeper sleep is to exercise during the day. With physical activity muscles undergo strenuous movement and your core temperature increases. Afterwards, about 30-90 minutes after your core temps decline, resulting in a greater feeling of sleepiness.

Do it outside. Exposure to light during the day helps set your body’s sleep-wake cycle. If indoor workout is all you can get, it still helps. So don’t skip it. Physical activity (even 15-20 minutes) helps to decrease stress and anxiety. Take advantage of the 2-for-1, push yourself into better sleep while dissolving the stress and anxiety with exercise.  

4. Avoid Blue Lights – Blue wavelengths of light boost attention, reaction times and mood during the day. At night, it’s disruptive to our daily circadian rhythm. Blue light suppresses melatonin twice as much as other forms of light. Reduce exposure in evenings.

Any screen from a cell phone, laptop or tablet emits blue light. Staring at your phone screens right before bed will interfere with quality of sleep. Avoid looking at a screen starting 30-45 minutes before going to bed. Stop suppressing your melatonin production.

5. Maintain Consistent Schedule – Try to sleep at the same time every day. Your body will become accustomed to its own circadian rhythms. It essentially turns you into your own alarm clock. Set up a parent sleep schedule with a newborn.

Agree to take turns getting up during the night to feed or soothe your newborn. We've written a whole article on baby feeding schedules. Maximize duration of sleep by trading off days to get up during the night. Sharing responsibilities can make daily workload feel less overbearing. This can lead to stronger satisfaction levels between you and your partner in your relationship.

6. Get Comfortable – This can mean a grip of different things. For starters, make sure the temperature in your bedroom is cool and not too hot. Make sure the room is dark with little to no light is creeping in. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and not too hard, soft or lumpy.

In addition, decrease any disturbing and unnecessary noises. Make sure there is little to no sound. If you’re sleeping with a baby crib in your bedroom and use white noise or nature sound machine, that’s ok as long as it’s not disturbing to you or your baby.

7. Less Caffeine – Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that affects the brain and central nervous system. In an 8oz cup of coffee you can find 95-200mg of caffeine. One way this compound interrupts sleep is by blocking adenosine receptors.

Adenosine is a chemical in the brain that promotes sleep. As the day wears on, the amount of adenosine in the brain builds up more and more. The longer we are awake, the more adenosine builds, and thus the sleepier we become.

Don’t use caffeine if you are breastfeeding. It may transfer to your infant via breast milk. If you thought your baby doesn’t sleep at night now, just wait until they feel the effects of caffeine.  If you can’t kick the habit; it’s recommended no more than 2 cups of coffee per day if breastfeeding.  

8. No Daytime Naps – Sleeping during the day can have the tendency to disrupt your daily circadian rhythm. As light and dark affect natural processes in all living things; the physical, mental and behavioral changes following a 24 hour cycle are circadian rhythms.

Taking naps too late in the day create cycles of sleeplessness. It can interrupt your regular sleep cycle, which makes it harder to sleep at night. Doomed to repeat over and over again like a bad version of Bill Murray from Groundhog Day. If you do take naps, try to sleep when your baby sleeps.  

9. Drinking Tea – Drinking tea is a great gateway into relaxation and a higher quality of rest. There are a few types of tea that naturally help you lower stress and unwind from the hectic day of parenting. Three kinds of sleepy time teas include chamomile, valerian root and passion flower tea.

• Chamomile tea has a mild sedative effect + relaxes nerves and soothes nervous system. Also, it has powerful antioxidants protecting from free radical damage and protects skin.

• Valerian root was first used by the Greeks as a treatment for insomnia. It increases gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the synaptic cleft, decreasing electrical activity in the brain.

• Passionflower tea boosts GABA in the brain promoting a relaxation effect. Studies suggest passionflower may reduce anxiety and are sometimes taken for insomnia. Many other powerful benefits as well.

10. Food & Beverage – There are a variety of foods that contribute to sleep. The main sleep ingredient in food is tryptophan which stimulates production of melatonin and serotonin. Some foods that can play a role in going to slumberland are kiwi fruit, milk, walnuts and honey.

• Kiwi fruit contains many vitamins and minerals. They have antioxidants and serotonin and research suggests it’s beneficial in treating sleep disorders according to a study from pubmed.gov.

• Milk has been a staple nighttime drink synonymous with sleep. But why? Because milk has the amino acid tryptophan which plays an important role in melatonin and serotonin production. That’s why drinking warm milk is portrayed as beneficial to sleep.

• Walnuts contain compounds that endorse sleep. They include tryptophan, melatonin and magnesium. A good precursor to sleep is 2 hours before bed try a walnut-rich snack.

• Honey is not to be consumed by infants under 12 months old to avoid infant botulism. Adults can eat it because it blocks orexin. Orexin is a chemical that increases alertness in the body.

Sleepy Time For Mom and Dad

As new parents grind on a daily to raise their little ones, it gets harder and harder to get good night’s rest. Raising a newborn can get extremely tiresome. How do you stay well rested? As much as we try to think we’ve finally nailed down a daily schedule, babies will grow at their own pace. But don’t worry it’s natural.

Adapting to your new reality as a parent is most important. And be happy to accept any offered help. We hope these tips help you get some well-deserved zzz. Speak to your doctor with any questions about changes in diet if pregnant, breastfeeding or on any medications.