As a new parent, you can throw the thought of getting good, consistent sleep every night right out of the window. For the next few years your sleep will be held at the whims of your little one. This means you’ll be squeezing in power naps at almost every opportunity. Praying you can catch up on your sleep.

But our bodies are set up for sleep during the night time. This can cause a bit of a kerfuffle when you try to squeeze in a bit of sleep at 2pm on a Wednesday. Especially when the Sun is still shining brightly outside!

When you’re not used to napping during the day, it can be hard to get into the swing of it. Particularly if you’re something of a light sleeper. Then the noise of daytime traffic or children playing next door can keep you wide awake.

So, as a parent, you need to figure out what you can do to maximize your opportunities to catch up on sleep. Then squeeze in a nap from time to time. This is why we’ve put together this article to help. It will give you some things you can do to improve your daytime naps. Hopefully helping you catch up on your sleep!

Stop Natural Light Leaking Into Your Bedroom

One of the biggest obstacles to getting a good mid-day nap is the sun. We’re geared up to sleep at night. So trying to sleep while it’s still light can be a bit of a struggle. Natural light from outside leaks in and keeps us awake. Luckily, there’s an easy fix to this by using a blackout window covering like DotcomBlinds’ Double Roller Blinds can help stop that light from pouring into your room and keeping you awake. Once you have your blackout window coverings in place, you’ll find it a lot easier to fall asleep in a darker space.

Drown Out The Noise Of The Outside World

Another thing that can get in the way of a good daytime nap is noise from the outside world. Whether it’s passing cars, playing children or noisy neighbours. There is nothing worse than being kept awake by the noises of the outside world when you’re trying to catch up on sleep.

There are a few fixes to this which you can use. The simplest is to just wear a set of noise cancelling headphones in bed. But this isn’t ideal if you still need to have your wits about you. Another solution would be to buy a white noise machine to drown out the noise from outside. This should allow you to get your power nap in.

Use Aromatherapy To Prepare For A Snooze

When you’re squeezing in naps when you can, you’re not always in the right mindset to sleep when an opportunity arises. If you’ve been busy parenting or running around the house, it can be hard to switch off. It’s not always easy to get into sleep mode at the drop of a hat. This can leave you awake in your bed. It can be frustrating watching your precious nap time tick down.

A good solution to this, is to use aromatherapy to quickly get your mind and body ready for a quick nap. Smells like lavender have been shown to encourage sleep. Therefore by having some scented candles, air fresheners or essential oils can help you get your mind and body ready for sleep. Hopefully you will then waste less time tossing and turning. Instead you could be snoozing and enjoying those power naps!

Get In The Habit Of Taking Regular Naps

When you’re not used to taking naps during the day, it can be hard to get into the habit of it. We’re creatures of habit after all! Our bodies thrive when following a routine. Much like your nightly sleep, if you don’t have a solid schedule you’ll find it harder to fall asleep at night. With similar struggles waking up in the morning. So, you should try to schedule your naps and try to keep to your nap routine as much as possible.

If you have a quick nap everyday at say 1pm, after a while your body will follow the routine and you’ll be mentally ready for a quick nap come 1pm every day. Obviously as a parent, you won’t be able to get a nap bang on the same time everyday. However by having naps at regular times, your body will develop a routine and you’ll find it much easier to get a quick nap.