For those of you that follow me on my social media pages, you know I am always complaining of how tired I am. You would be forgiven for thinking that I have a reason for my poor sleeping habits, maybe a restless baby, toddler or insomnia possibly. But no, I can, and regularly do, sleep around 8 hours or thereabouts most nights! Yet I yearn for the day when I wake up feeling fully rested and not wanting to crawl straight back to bed.

There are many reasons I may be struggling to get a restful nights sleep and feel energised and ready for the day ahead. Currently, this is something I am working on with a consultant from the ENT department and I am awaiting further tests and referrals to different departments for further investigation.

In the meantime, there are a few things I can do to help me achieve that seemingly elusive restful night’s sleep. Right now, this is having a knock on effect on other areas in my life. Noticeably my inability to stay awake and focused during the day! The side effects of a lack of, or disturbed sleep can be vast and, if allowed to continue over time seriously damaging to your health.

How a lack of sleep affects my day

I have a lot to pack into my days and I can be regularly found working at my laptop at 5 am meaning my days are long. But when I have had what most would call a full nights sleep, the exhaustion I feel can lead me to an over-dependence on coffee and a desire to take a nap regularly.

But when your days are full with parenting and juggling part-time employment with various other jobs – from running the blog to running social media accounts for clients to freelance copywriting, how do you make sure you are getting enough rest for your brain and body to be able to work at their best?

When I am struggling after a poor nights sleep, I really struggle to focus and concentrate for long periods of time and this really sets me back when it comes to juggling work, parenting and my regular Zumba classes. Oh, that’s right, I forgot to mention, I also do 3 Zumba classes a week too. My body needs the exercise to help me not only burn off calories but also to get me off the sofa where I spend most of my time working from home.

Improving my Health with The Restored.

I was recently invited to take a quiz on a new startup health site The Restored to determine which part of my health I should be focusing on. The Restored are passionate about providing people with practical guidance to help them feel better as they combine this with products to help them start off on the right foot.

The Restored believe that improving your health doesn’t need to be difficult, you just need to focus on the right things. In the past and up to the present, this is something I struggle with. Trying to change everything at once inevitably leads me back to square one so it makes sense to me that I should focus on one thing at a time.

The Restored foundations of health inspire their philosophy, these are;

SLEEP | NUTRITION | MOVEMENT | MINDSET

Breaking this down to focusing on this one area means that I can build better foundations for success in other areas too following the theory that 20% of effort will govern 80% of your results. But what area should I be focusing on?

Improving My Sleep.

At this moment I have a list of areas I need to work on (for myself and for medical reasons) but the above idea really resonates with me. What if splitting my focus is affecting my ability to do what I need to do? Is there that one area that deserves my attention to build my foundations to improve my overall health?

For me, that foundation is sleep. Yes, I need to lose weight. Yes, I need to add to my workouts with more vigorous classes to help me get fitter and in shape. Yes, I need to be more productive in the day to build my business as I work to support myself and Olivia as a single parent. But without a good restful sleep each night, my efforts will always fall flat as I give into the sheer exhaustion of juggling day to day life.

So for me, right now, I am focussing on sleep. This is the area I feel I would benefit more from. Following the advice, along with products from The Restored, from now on I will be adopting a new sleep routine to help me become not only more rested but also more productive during the day as I benefit from everything a good night sleep can provide.

If you are struggling to feel awake and refreshed after a good nights sleep like I am, why try these practical tips to help you to adopt a new sleep routine each night.

• Take a warm shower or bath 30 mins before bedtime
• Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time each morning as much as possible.
• No electronics 45 minutes before bed.
• Create a calming atmosphere in your bedroom to promote sleep.
• Avoid coffee later in the day, or limit the amo0unt of caffeine you are drinking.
• Try yoga, pilates or meditation before bed but not too close to bedtime.

Make sure to stick around to see how I get on with improving my sleeping habits with The Restored. Let’s see if I can build my foundation starting with a good nights sleep. Hopefully, this will help give my efforts in other areas a boost as I attempt to improve my diet to lose weight and add more exercise to my thrice weekly Zumba classes.

Disclaimer: This a two-part paid campaign and review with The Restored.