Motherhood By Nightlight
For many new moms, interrupted sleep is their “new normal.” In an August 2020 survey,* 62% of moms said they wake up at least once nightly. And moms aren’t waking up just to feed and soothe baby. It should not come as a surprise that “worrying about the world” ranked as the top reason for tossing and turning.
Here’s the good news: You are not alone. And you can find your way back to sleep. Read on to learn more.
Motherhood by nightlight is happening from coast to coast
Moms in sunny California are up the most at night. And those sleepless-in-Seattlites of Washington state round out the top ten. But motherhood by nightlight isn’t just a west coast thing; Colorado, Georgia and North Carolina are close at their heels. See any surprises on this list?
The Top 10 Sleepless States for Moms**
- California
- Texas
- Florida
- New York
- Illinois
- Arizona
- Ohio
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
Late Night Back-to-Sleep Tips
Bring it back to nature. Try creating a playlist with ocean sounds or misting your pillow with soothing lavender spray. It the weather allows, open a window and let in some fresh air.
Find your inner calm with intention. Try journaling or simple list-making, preferably early in the day to get those problems on paper and out of your head. Have restless or stressed-out kids at home (besides that new baby)? A simple meditation practice may offer a decompression solution for many family members.
Build confidence to tackle the challenge of sleeplessness. Read expert tips on how to Get a Good Night of Sleep When Stressed. Over time, create smart consistent nighttime routines. Add exercise to your week. Consider ordering yourself a box of herbal tea or a weighted blanket. Such strategies will help you plan for successful sleep in the nights to come.
Still Awake?
Friends episodes are “there for you”! Laughter can be great medicine. Most experts recommend no screens when trying to get back to sleep, but we’ve all had those nights where what we really want to do is binge-watch a Netflix series or take a scroll through hilarious memes of Instagram. If you’re at that moment, join the party! Tuck baby in, curl up under a toasty throw and enjoy some stress-relieving laughter.
Finally, while counting sheep can fun, sometimes motherhood by nightlight calls for a little retail therapy. Click on over to Zulily’s The Late Night Shop for Mom for deals on all things baby.
*Methodology (1) Zulily surveyed 500 parents, users on websites in the Google Surveys Publisher Network, aged 18 to 64 years old. The survey was conducted online through Google Surveys (complete methodology can be found here) from August 10 – 14, 2020. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.
**Methodology (2) Using the social media conversation listening tool Sprinklr, Zulily evaluated mom-oriented conversation keywords over the last 180 days (February 27, 2020 through August 25, 2020) across Twitter during the 12:00a.m. – 5:00a.m. timeframe across all U.S. time zones. Facebook and Instagram were omitted due to profile privacy restrictions. The U.S. states yielding the highest mom-conversation volumes in the middle-of-the-night were ranked from highest to lowest.
