This is the third of a five-part blog series titled, “Get Your Body Back After Baby” which is based on a past School of Mom Facebook chat session, where I discussed “Five Tips to Get Your Body Back After Baby”. The following is taken from chat transcript, where I discussed Tip 3: Sleep.

Sleep

Sleep when the baby sleeps. Remember that? This is true even when your baby is no longer a baby. You might argue that by napping, you’re taking time away from your day, but I would counter that and say that by investing 20-30 minutes to a rejuvenating nap, you’d be increasing your productivity, energy, creativity, and quality of life.

What does this have to do with getting your body back? EVERYTHING! If you’re not getting enough sleep, your body is stressed, which means that it has high levels of cortisol which contribute to increased abdominal fat and weight retention.

As a former nurse, I can tell you for a fact that messing with your sleep schedule messes with your overall health. There’s a reason that nurses lose weight when they give up their night shifts! True story. The healthiest people have strict sleep schedules and sleep like babies (alien babies that actually sleep).

To put it simply, STRESS = WEIGHT GAIN. Again, this is a slow process, but so essential. Sleep training is hard for adults and babies alike.

My tips: if you’re sleepy, sleep! Yes, in the middle of the day! Listen to your body. If you want to join the 5 AM club, an interesting technique I learned is that rather than sleeping earlier to wake up earlier, sleep at your regular time and wake up earlier. Your body will start to get tired sooner, and you will naturally fall asleep earlier and naturally wake up earlier.

Stay tuned for Tip #4: Exercise.