Photo by Shane

Getting good sleep during the middle of a global health crisis with two young children and a rambunctious 8 month old puppy at home is no easy feat. Yet, thankfully, most nights, I get it done! It wasn’t always this way, though! It used to take me SO LONG to fall asleep. Like, sometimes more than an hour. Sometimes, 2 hours! Add to that the fact that my younger child, my son, has never been a good sleeper, and often wakes up in the middle of the night. So by the time I finally fell asleep, he’d be screaming from his bed, and then after settling him I’d have to start the whole awful process over again. And of course, everyone is UP and AT ‘EM by 6AM.

I started doing some research, and have picked up a few tricks over the last year or so that have really helped me to get my sleep situation under control. I’m sharing because I know my situation is far from uncommon, and hopefully something here can help you! Because sleep truly is so important, obviously!

1. Exercise often and early: I try to exercise before 3PM because if I do it after that, it winds me up too much for the night, and if I don’t do it at all, I find I don’t sleep as well.
2. Limit alcohol intake: One or two glasses of wine helps relax me at the end of the day and assists in easing me into sleep, but any more than that and my sleep is just bad.
3. Go to bed at a reasonable hour: Since I have no control over what time my kids (or the dog, FML) wake me up in the morning, I need to make sure I’m in bed by 10PM so that I can maximize the potential amount of sleep.
4. My Betoken CBD: Almost every night after I brush my teeth I take my Betoken NIGHTY NIGHT CAPSULE and rub on some I FEEL GOOD LOTION that I got on the Betoken site. The Nighty Night makes me feel sleepy even if I am not feeling 100% ready for bed and even helps get me quickly back to sleep if the kiddos wake me in the night. The lotion has the most incredible smell, and I rub it on my throat and hands before bed. It relaxes my breathing and is the perfect compliment to my Nighty Nights. If I’m feeling really indulgent, I will take a pre-bed bath with my Hari Om Hemp bath bomb, which has lavender and other essential oils along with CBD to really relax me and prep me for sleep.
5. Sound Machine: My husband tends to snore, and doesn’t really like it (as it turns out!) when I kick him to STFU in the middle of the night. The sound machine helps drown out his noise, and also the GD birds every morning now that it’s Spring in Maine. I use this one: LECTROFAN ON AMAZON

This is what works for me, but I would love to know if you have a sleep routine that works for you? I am always looking for new ideas! Hit me up on instagram @betokencbd