As we all know sleep is very important for us to function properly but having a baby makes it very difficult to get the recommended 7.5/8 hours of sleep that we should each day, so it's important that you try to catch up on some of your missed sleep during the day while your baby sleeps. However, as most mums know, its is not always easy to take naps during the day! So try a 'Brain Nap' instead.

Brain NaPS

This will help you to feel more refreshed, help you to cope with those stressful times, can be done even if your little one is awake and has great benefits on your health (see below). Here's how to do it:-

Sit or lie in a comfortable position (probably best to sit if you don't wan to fall asleep)
Some people find it helps to put on relaxing meditation music that you can find on Youtube/Spotify etc.
Try to notice if your body feels tense and try to relax any areas of tension.
Focus on your breath coming in and out of your nose, try not to think about anything else but you breath.
If your mind wanders (it definitely will) just bring your attention back to your breath
Continue with this for at least 5 minutes. You can gradually increase the time that you do this for as you progress and find it easier.

You can do this exercise for as long or as little time as you like, the most important thing is that you try to do it every day particularly while you are sleep deprived.

What are the Benefits?

Brain naps are basically a form of meditation where you focus on your breathing and try to stop all thoughts in your mind, so basically giving your brain a break and can be done in as little as 5 minutes.

It is actually very hard to do. Your brain never really gets a break from thinking so it does take some training but eventually you will find it easy. Meditation used be something "only 'yogis' do" but recently the benefits are becoming much more well known and now even the biggest companies such as Google, have their staff meditating in an attempt to reduce absences.

Reduces Stress

Meditation decreases the amount of stress hormones released so you can cope with stressful situations much better)

Slows Aging Process

As meditation reduces stress and increases positive states of mind it can actually lengthen telomeres, which are the protective caps at the end of your cells that serve as markers for aging. Shorter telomere length in cells are linked with poorer immune systems, cardiovascular disease and degenerative conditions like osteoporosis and Alzheimers)

Lowers Blood Pressure

Meditation is an excellent way to help reduce high blood pressure naturally. When we meditate, our stress levels fall significantly, and all systems within the body begin to normalise. The result is a reduction of high blood pressure.

Improves symptoms of Anxiety and Depression

30 minutes a day can improve symptoms as much as antidepressant medication!

Have more Focus

Meditation calms you down, which helps you focus better. Research has shown that EEG activity actually decreases during meditation. Studies have shown that people who meditate more are able to focus more, and with less sleep.

Promotes Healthier Lifestyle

Less Stress = less chance of overeating, storing fat and making wiser food choices

While this is not a replacement for sleep as you can see above it has similar benefits and could just help you get through these tough few months!