After a non stop day and a non stop evening, the biggest favour you can do yourself is aim for the simple things. We all know that feeling of lugging ourselves up the stairs to bedfordshire, wishing for the kids to be neatly tucked up in bed ready for a full night sleep, instead we enter the battlefield. Bedding, toys, cups, paper and books everywhere, the moment the kids realise that they do actually have stuff to play with and all of sudden they have to read, do that puzzle or writing for school. The angelic Mum in me says “These are precious moments, opportunities to let the kids express themselves” but more often than not the dragon Mum in me blows an imaginary whistle telling the prisoners to get back to their cells. Okay maybe that is a bit harsh, but in reality we all have to draw a line under the activities of the day by letting go of that Mum guilt and allow time for recuperation.
After battling with the kids, my husband is already catching some Z’s before his night shift. At this stage it is all too easy for me to just fall into bed like someone has got me with a tranquilizer. But the house is the quietest its been all day and I could do something really productive like watch that episode of Our Girl while Googling ‘Join the Army’ and swiftly agreeing that it’s probably a bad idea as I may lose my glasses in combat. We can waste our time on so many irrelevant things that in that moment we believe is the right thing to do in order to focus on ourselves.

The world has so much to offer to help us get a better night sleep and we are surrounded by dreamy celebrity nighttime routines, but how often do we start those routines only to see it as another chore? There’s no shame in accepting that a 10 step routine is just too long! unless going to the toilet is counted? which I might add is an excellent opportunity for that peace and quiet we all crave… unless the kids are still awake, then you’re just on your porcelain stage and they’re all clapping. This is not toilet humour, but reality people. Continuing…
Overtime I’ve learnt that the best rest comes not just when I’m sleeping but in the moments of peace beforehand. The call of bed is strong to me, I’ve always been a woman who needs her sleep but I make an effort now to at the very least cleanse my face and moisturise it before sleep. I can rest easy then that I wont awake to a face of smudged mascara… asking my reflection “did we go out last night??”. Rest is more than just sleep, so however many things you could be doing it’s vital that we stop and remind ourselves that if we wind down to bed, we often gain better quality sleep and therefore gain a tad more energy for the day ahead. You can check out my top tips for good rest below.