Ok, mums of newborns and/or toddlers may not necessarily (very unlikely) be getting a full night sleep and chances are, if you have more than one child, when one finally sleeps through, the other starts playing up. Yet sleep is vital to all human beings and to the huge demands of parenting. So whatever sleep mums actually get, it is even more important that it is quality sleep and that they fall asleep easily.

Here are a few tips to creating a relaxing and calming environment close to bedtime to better ensure a good night sleep, not just for mums but the whole family:

• Burn/diffuse a relaxing blend of essential oil (e.g Night Time by Neal's Yard) or candle in the living room; i love the lavender/sweet orange/camomile suggested by my 'Well Mama' Co-host and holistic therapist Lizzie from @toptotoebath; I also like to put a drop of neat lavender oil on the corner of my bed pillows and my kids' too!
• Play some relaxing music: from classical music to the best of Buddha Bar Lounge Music compilation or nature sounds, take your pick! My kids love Native American Flute music on a background of thunder, which I found on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SynzKC4fWp0
• Have a small protein based snack such as greek yogurt and berries, cold chicken and olives or a glass of (non dairy) milk or warm water with a tbs of pea/collagen protein mixed in to balance sugar levels.
• Take a magnesium supplement which helps to relax muscles (e.g MegaMag Calmeze by Nutri advanced or Natural Calm by Natural Vitality)
• Drink a cup of soothing and sleep inducing herbal tea (e.g Pukka Relax or my personal favourite Pukka Nightime; Clipper Sleep Easy; Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime)
• Enforce a laptop/Mobile phone curfew: blue light is hormone disruptive so have a cut off time if possible for internet surfing, emailing and texting.
• Practice a relaxing activity: guided meditation or visualisation or any relaxation techniques available on Apps (e.g Headspace, Insight Timer, Bedtime Meditation For Kids by C. Kerr); do some gentle stretching or restorative & calming yoga postures (e.g Seated Forward bends, Reclined Wide Angle Bose, Supported Child pose; follow my short restorative sequence https://youtu.be/ppCyjW3Rq28); reading on your own or to/with your children depending on their ages; I love seating on the sofa or my bed with my kids with 'Buddha At Bedtime' (recommended by my beautiful friend, mama & trainer Dana from @dnafitness), a collection of short tales with beautiful illustrations and a message of love & wisdom; we take turn to read sections of the story; there is also a stretching/relaxation exercise in the book intro which you can do with toddlers/older children before reading the story

Sweet DreamZzzz