Sleep Tips for Working Parents

I’ve slept in the emergency room, airports, and a toddler bed. Good sleep isn’t about being relaxed. It’s about having a system that works when your week doesn’t. If you’re working late, crossing time zones, or parenting through the night, you won’t get perfect sleep. But you can still recover. Here’s how I do it when things are falling apart: What Actually Works 1. Kill the light early. Overhead lights off by 9 PM. Screens dimmed. Blue light hits melatonin harder than most people think. [Gooley et al., 2011] 2. No late snacks. Eating late spikes glucose and reduces deep sleep. I stop three hours before bed. [Afaghi et al., 2007] 3. Same shutdown routine, every night. Mine starts with 15 minutes on the acupuncture mat. Then magnesium, a short book chapter, and one breathing cycle in bed. Nothing fancy. Just signals to my nervous system. 4. Don’t spiral if sleep gets interrupted. I don’t track “perfect nights.” I track sleep opportunity. Five calm hours are better than eight anxious ones. [Carskadon & Dement, 2011] 5. Outside walk first thing. No sunglasses. Early light in the eyes resets melatonin. It’s not about steps. It’s about your clock. [Khalsa et al., 2003] This is what works when life doesn’t. No pills. No perfect setups. Just structure and rhythm. If you’re navigating high-pressure weeks, this routine will hold. I wrote more about it in a recent edition of The Upward ARC. Let me know if you can't find it, and I'll share the link in the comments. #UpwardARC

Tracy was suffering. Between her new job and caring for her two kids, she felt like her health was always last on her list. → 4 hours of sleep the last 4 nights → body aches → that awful yuck feeling in her stomach She had to make a change. But she knew it was more than just one change she needed ↳ and she felt overwhelmed. So we talked. I told her that even though big lifestyle changes take time ↳ there were things she could do that would benefit her right now ↳ as well as in the long run. So we → identified the biggest health concerns → talked about the changes that were easiest for her → picked a place to start ☝️ She would focus on things within her control ✌️ Not let perfect be the enemy of progress Here was our initial plan: 1️⃣ Focus on getting more sleep. → This couldn’t go on ↳ so she had to make it a priority. We picked a “stop everything and get ready for bed” time. 2️⃣ Sleep planning → For 1 hour before bed: ↳ no screens ↳ lights down low ↳ calm (yet important) tasks like: –fold laundry –pick up kids toys –write out nonnegotiable tasks for tomorrow (on paper) 3️⃣ Improve sleep quality → make bedroom dark, cool and calm ↳ clothes-pin curtains closed so no light comes in ↳ keep baby monitor face down so screen is not visible ↳ keep smartphone in adjacent bathroom at night 4️⃣ Move more during the work day → she’s active with her kids but sits at a desk → put a big cardboard box on her desk, her laptop on the box, and stand while on video calls → 5 minute walk before going into work and at lunchtime 5️⃣ Better food choices → bulk healthy meal prep on Sunday → bring lunch to work (for more control) → start replacing highly processed foods with no drama healthy snacks: ↳ nuts ↳ fruit ↳ veg + hummus 6️⃣ Manage stress → husband takes on a little more responsibility → daily reflection at night → take a 10-minute break in the morning and the evening: ↳ no screens ↳ no kids ↳ sit outside and relax 7️⃣ 30-minute walk with kids in stroller on days she's off from work → outdoor family time that benefits both her health and her family's health (it's not either/or) It was a process. 3️⃣ & 4️⃣ were the easiest for her 5️⃣ was the hardest 1️⃣, 2️⃣ & 3️⃣ were the most impactful But she’s doing it. And feeling better already. And is more optimistic about the direction her health is going. Better health is possible ↳ even with a busy lifestyle. You just have to find it. 👉 Want clear, actionable guidance, specific to you and your fitness issues? 📱 Schedule a 1:1 with me and I’ll give you 3 healthy changes you can make RIGHT NOW! 💪 Check my featured section. Did you find this helpful? ♻️ Repost to share with others! Want more information on healthy living? ➕ Follow me Steve Schlenkermann 🔔 Ring the bell

Over the past couple of years, I've interviewed several sleep professors and physicians. They've shared a LOT of sleep tips with me. Being the lab rat psychologist I am, I tested them all. On myself. At this point, I have tried everything short of sleeping upside down like a bat. Many sleep tips failed to shift the dial. But three strategies genuinely transformed my sleep. Tip #1: Sleep LESS to sleep better This one surprised me. When I was struggling with insomnia, I was told: the worst thing you can do is spend more time in bed. Instead, less time in bed is the trick. Sleep restriction therapy (which I wrote about in The Health Habit) works like this: If you're only sleeping 6 hours but spending 9 hours in bed, restrict your bed time to 6 hours. Your sleep efficiency skyrockets. Then gradually increase it over the course of a few weeks. Tip #2: The 3-2-1 Rule 3 hours before bed: No more food 2 hours before bed: No more work 1 hour before bed: No screens (Kindle doesn't count) "But Amantha, I need to scroll the socials at 11pm!" (Said no well-rested person ever). Tip #3: Wake within the same 30-minute window every day Yes, even on weekends. I can hear you groaning. Let me explain. This is the cure to "social jetlag". Your circadian rhythm doesn't care that it's Saturday. When you sleep in for "just 2 more hours," you're essentially giving yourself jet lag. I wake between 6-6:30am every single day. No exceptions. The payoff? I fall asleep easily, wake naturally, and haven't needed an alarm in months (except when I have a ridiculously early How I Work podcast interview to get up for). What's your most effective sleep hack? Or are you still searching for the holy grail of good sleep? #SleepScience #ProductivityHacks #EvidenceBasedWellbeing