You know how people always say once you have kids you’ll never sleep the same. Meaning you always sleep with one ear open! I don’t know about you Mamas, but I’ve found this to be absolutely true. Even though my son is three and sleeps through the night, I still have a hard time falling asleep and am a much lighter sleeper than I used to be. Needless to say, I not always the most well-rested Mama when my alarm clocks rings the next day!

In order to help all of us Modern Mamas improve our sleep quality, I interviewed the CEO and Founder of Lunya, Ashley Merrill. This talented Mama is reinventing sleepwear in a very intentional way in order to help us all get a better night sleep – hip hip hooray!

First off, here’s a little background on the Lunya brand and why I love it. For starters, I love that Ashley is on a mission to make women feel comfortable and confident in their nighttime routine. I will totally admit it, I often times look like I’ve “let myself go” when it comes to my nighttime apparel. And at the root of this seems to be the fact that there’s always a trade-off between comfort and cute… UNTIL I was introduced to this brand of sleepwear and their resilient, cozy, machine-washable silk – um need I say more. 

No but seriously, the innovation behind Ashley’s designs are so purposeful. To name a few, her collections aim to address the things that keep us up at night, such as restlessness, temperature control, and muscle aches… talk about powerful pjs. Not to mention, my hubby loves that I now wear clothing to bed that I feel sexy in (and doesn’t look like I’ve given up on life… haha). It’s a win-win!

And just like all the medical journals, performance gurus, and life coaches keep telling us, the benefits of a good night sleep cannot be overstated. And Ashley Merrill is passionate about this topic! Other than crafting the dreamiest sleepwear collection, Ashley also sticks to this carefully crafted pre-bedtime routine: 

Here are her top tips for a better night sleep:

1.)    First tip is one I picked up while pregnant and never let go: it’s to sleep with four down pillows.  One between the knees, one for holding and two in a V-shape at my head.  This allows me to be almost weightless when I sleep and the V-shape at the head is great because I’m a side sleeper, so it means when I toss and turn at night there is always already a pillow in the right place when I move so it minimizes disruption.

2.)    Second tip is to moisturize like crazy.  I use Vintners Daughter as a base and then top with Augustinus Bader Super Rich Cream.  

3.)    The Calm app storytelling feature is great as a go-to for nights when I wake up in the middle of the night.  They now have stories narrated by Matthew McConaughey... you’re welcome.

4.)    Sleep in the right clothes for you. Don’t waste a good nights sleep in clothes that have the potential to wake you up.  We have clothes to help you optimize for you specific sleep needs: Restore Pima, Cool Pima, Washable Silk, Organic Pima, Cozy Alpaca, Supportive Modal.

5.)    Podcasts are a new favorite nighttime routine for my husband and I.  It eliminates the blue light problem of phones/tv pre-bed and allows us to relax, cuddle, and explore interesting topics together.  

I hope this gives all of you busy Modern Mamas a few new ideas for how to have a the most restful night’s sleep imaginable. Wishing you all more sleep, silky sleepwear and a new nighttime routine… I’m off to go buy some more pillows!