Mummy burnout – my top tips to get your mojo back after the school holidays

You’ve been busy with the kids all summer, but now it’s back to work and the school routine. Let’s face it, you’re probably feeling a bit burnt out from it all. So here are my top tips on how to beat exhaustion and get your mojo back after the school holidays.

The good news is that now the kids are back at school, the Autumn term is lovely and long, and this can create much-needed head space for you to have some “me time” and get revitalised.  With school runs comes structure and this allows you to get into a great routine around the school drop offs and pick-ups. This is a perfect opportunity for you to get fit and reinvigorate your energy and brain.

Why do I feel exhausted and overwhelmed?

When you do more than your mind and body can cope with, you get easily tired and overwhelmed and your stress levels can increase. This can in turn affect how efficiently your adrenal glands pumps out the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. The adrenal glands are walnut sized organs that lie above our kidneys and play a role in your “fight or flight” response to day-to-day challenges.

Your ability to produce the appropriate amount of cortisol can wax and wane. Cortisol production can be affected by cumulative stressors from our past, as well as more recent day to day pressures from raising a family. Genetics also play a role, and it’s why we all have our own varied and very unique ability to deal with day-to-day ups and downs.

You might find it hard to produce enough cortisol, which can present as an overwhelmed, tired and apathetic picture; on the other hand you might produce too much cortisol which can make you feel tired and wired and can affect how quickly you get to sleep and may also lead to a 4am wake up; or you might not break down these stress hormones efficiently so they are active in the body for too long, again affecting sleep, but even more so, and in this scenario you probably feel you are sleeping very lightly or hardly at all. Throw in children waking at night, then this can lead to significant sleep deprivation, fatigue and brain fog.

As you can imagine if an imbalance of cortisol is sustained over a prolonged period of time it can have an impact on our health to include poor immunity, weight gain and even adrenal fatigue (also known as adrenal burnout).

In my experience, women are usually the bricks that hold the family together, if the bricks start crumbling then it has an impact on the whole household. If you are emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted you have nothing to give to anyone else, it is impossible to pour from an empty cup. Therefore, is it important to carve time into your day for yourself, so that you can refill your cup with things that inspire and energise you; this also makes you a happier, calmer mum.

Natural ways to support burn out – Lifestyle

1. Create a wind down routine – to help switch from busy mum mode to chilled mum; create a wind down routine at night that suits you. It may involve a meditation, taking a soak in the bath with some lovely relaxing Epsom salts or reading a book – make sure it’s something that you love, and incorporate this into your evening routine.
2. Prioritise early nights – When it’s time for bed, go to bed. Being a busy mum exhausts you on many levels – mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually and very often in the evenings we can get distracted by mobile phones or TV programmes. Consequently, we end up going to bed much later than we should, and then struggle to sleep. Choose a regular time for bed and a consistent time to wake up (if your kids allow this!); this also shows the kids the importance of resting and recharging your batteries for the next day.
3. Hydrate – Make sure you stay well hydrated throughout the day with water, sparking or still and herbal teas. When we don’t drink enough it can make us feel lethargic, dizzy, and lightheaded, it can cause headaches and generally just leave you feeling a bit bleurgh. Aim for 1.2 litres of water per day, perhaps a little more, up to 2 litres if you are exercising.
4. Cut back on caffeine and alcohol – Sadly these stimulants play havoc with our hormones and mood as well as sleep. If you enjoy a cup of coffee, then try to have it first thing in the morning so the effects of the caffeine have worn off before bedtime. Alcohol contributes to poor and disrupted sleep and can make us feel groggy the next day if we’ve drunk too much the night before – there is nothing worse than starting a busy day feeling rubbish and foggy. There are now lots of lovely non-alcoholic beverages, if you fancy a more ‘grown up’ drink in the evening. If you feel you have drunk too many glasses of rose over the summer, then try a liver support supplement containing artichoke, dandelion and turmeric for at least 6 weeks.
5. Build up exercise slowly – When choosing exercise, ensure it is something that you enjoy and have fun whilst doing it. If you are struggling to ‘find your thing’ then start with walking; being out in nature is a fantastic starting point – research shows that being amongst trees and grass helps to boost your mood and overall wellbeing.
6. Eat plenty of protein and healthy fats – These foods help to stabilise your blood sugar levels which in turn helps keep your mood steady, so you’re less likely to get an afternoon slump; good quality proteins and healthy fats also keep you fuller for longer, so you’ll be less tempted to grab the children’s snacks.
7. Meditation and relaxation –Two phone apps that are fantastic for this are Calm and Headspace, they both offer short daily meditations, which you can do lying in bed before you go to sleep; they also offer sleep stories which are a lovey way to switch off and be taken to a magical place.

Natural ways to support burn out – Supplements

1. Studies indicate that Saffron (crocus sativus) may help with stress, low mood, and anxiety. It helps to modulate adrenal response to day-to-day challenges and there is some evidence it helps with focus and concentration for people with scattered minds. We usually associate this deep yellow spice with Spanish and Southeast Asian recipes such as paella and curries, but you can also take it as a supplement.
2. If you are struggling to switch off at night and have difficulty sleeping then I would try Ashwagandha, an Indian Ayurvedic adaptogen herb; research shows that it can help you drift off to sleep, as well as improving overall sleep quality. This is because it helps to cool down excess cortisol at night, and over time may well help an overactive racing mind at night.
3. Magnesium is a mineral which is essential for good health, it is required by your body for hundreds of different functions; these include nervous system and energy support, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Magnesium also comes in many forms, but the type I like for helping mummy adrenals is Magnesium Phospholipid which contains phosphatidylserine, that helps to reduce an overactive cortisol response. Again, take at night to help put the body and brain into a more restful state.

I hope these are helpful steps to revitalise you after the school holidays and help you get back on track nice and quickly. However if you feel you are permanently exhausted and overwhelmed, know that the NatureDoc clinical team are also here to support you, if you would prefer one to one support.

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References

• Feeling Pressure to Be a Perfect Mother Relates to Parental Burnout and Career Ambitions
• Exhausted Parents: Development and Preliminary Validation of the Parental Burnout Inventory
• The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system in burnout
• Effects of Saffron Extract Supplementation on Mood, Well-Being, and Response to a Psychosocial Stressor in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel Group, Clinical Trial
• Efficacy and Safety of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) Root Extract in Insomnia and Anxiety: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study
• Functional foods with digestion-enhancing properties
• Antiproliferative, protective and antioxidant effects of artichoke, dandelion, turmeric and rosemary extracts and their formulation
• The Role of Magnesium in Neurological Disorders