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Postpartum Sleep Deprivation Tip #1

by Apr 15, 2012Postpartum Health

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Medical Disclaimer: Mamashine does not intend to provide medical advice. Although we try to empower our readers to be advocates for their own health, the content on this blog is not meant to be a substitute for medical guidance. For more information, please read our full Disclaimer.

Modern electricity is something we take for granted. It lets us have and do so much, but there is one subtle and negative effect it can have on our health. Something some people are more sensitive to than other people. Baby is trying to learn to attune their circadian rhythms and the more you can help them by following these tips the more they will be able to have better sleep which in turn will help your sleep deprivation.

If you want to know how to sleep better, start with addressing this basic biological response to light.

  1. Make sure that the lights in your home begin to dim in the evening. This includes TVs and computer screens!
  2. Use dimmer switches on as many lights as possible. You can also turn the light down on your computer screens in the evening ( I found this one thing very important.)
  3. Imagine that you are trying to simulate, as much as you can, the natural shift from daytime to nighttime within your home, so that you are mimicking the gradual change of light at dusk into night.
  4. Most importantly get outside with your baby in the morning and expose yourselves to sunlight for 15-20 minutes even on cloudy days. The morning’s exposure to sunlight is what stimulates our wake and sleep patterns. Babies need to learn to sleep to our time schedules and a big part of this is through proper stimulation of their natural circadian rhythm.

These simple changes can help to trigger your body’s natural sleep cycle for you and your baby. Light and dark are the triggers to the hormones in the brain that induce sleep. Artificial lights mess up these signals!

Artificial lights to avoid:

  • Turn down or off all media screens (dim screens at night, turn off TV’s after 8pm.) Early is better.
  • Dim indoor house lights (reduce the number of lights on, put lights with dimmer switches.)
  • Avoid going to brightly lit stores in the evening particularly close to bedtime.

Good light habits:

  • Be outside for at least 20 minutes during the early part of the day for maximum light.
  • Be outside at dusk to get the shift from light to dark.

If you need to learn how to sleep better, getting back to how nature intended us humans to know it’s bedtime is the foundation to better sleep.

Medical Disclaimer

Mamashine does not intend to provide medical advice. Although we try to empower our readers to be advocates for their own health, the content on this blog is not meant to be a substitute for medical guidance. For more information, please read our full Disclaimer.

Affiliate Disclosure

Mamashine is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.