Jordin Sparks Shares Her Sweet Habit For Catching Up on Sleep as a Mom
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Jordin Sparks doesn’t usually have much trouble sleeping — as long as she’s not dealing with jet lag, or weird set times, or daylight saving time, or anything else that throws her sleep schedule off. Which, given Sparks’ career as an actress and artist, does tend to happen pretty frequently. “With the type of work that I do, I’m constantly traveling, I’m constantly on sets for different periods of time,” Sparks tells SheKnows. “Having to adjust to different time changes and daily schedules has definitely been tough for me.”
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That can be a problem, because in addition to having a career in the entertainment industry, Sparks is also a mom to 5-year-old DJ. While Sparks “used to be able to sleep whenever I wanted, at any time,” now she knows that, no matter how late she was up the night before or whatever her schedule is like the next day, DJ needs to be up at 6:30 in the morning. “There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it.”
Challenges like daylight saving time — which hit last weekend, “spring forward”-style — also make it tough to help DJ get enough shut-eye. “I really try to get him to sleep an hour earlier,” Sparks says. It helps that DJ can’t read an analog clock yet, and Sparks doesn’t have a digital clock in the house — once he can decipher those numbers, “we’ll probably have our struggles,” she laughs, but it sounds like she’ll stand firm. “Sleep is so important, not only for all of us, but especially for the little ones as they’re growing.”
Sparks’ own sleep habits revolve around trying to create a calm environment before bed. It’s not always easy, since she has “one of those minds that is always on,” she explains. “My body will be tired, but my brain will be wide awake. I am still learning what the exact right things are for me to calm my brain down.” She meditates and uses red light therapy before bed, which some studies have found to improve sleep. She also tries to turn off screens before bed, but Sparks is honest about that last one. “Some nights I’m like, ‘I gotta finish the show!'”
Between daylight saving time, work schedules, and those occasional binges, Sparks says she also relies on sleep aids like Unisom. “I use it to help guide me into my sleep schedule and make sure that I get a good night’s sleep so that when I wake up the next day, I feel rested,” says Sparks, who’s partnered with the brand. “I like the gummies. My husband loves the sleep gels.”
And when all else fails, there’s always family naps, one of Sparks’ favorite ways to catch up on sleep. “All three of us will just knock out,” she says. “I feel like because we’re all in the same space — we know where he is, we know he’s okay, we know he’s asleep — it helps us knock out a lot easier.” It’s also a time they can enjoy being together while also catching up on sleep, some pretty elite multi-tasking. “Those naps are just the best,” Sparks says. “I love those times.”
Before you go, check out more of our favorite products to help you get some shut-eye:
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