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AV E YO U E V E R S E E N A 3 -Y E A R - O L D
scream and thrash on the floor like something from The Exorcist? I have. Nearly every night. For months. And it was my 3-yearold. There was an unpleasant stretch a few years ago when, almost every night, my husband and I would bolt out of bed to the sound of our daughter screaming in the throes of a night terror. We would try to comfort her, usually to no avail. During extra-violent ones, we would carry her to the thick living room rug so she wouldn’t hurt herself as she writhed in apparent psychic agony. We felt powerless and, of course, completely exhausted. It wasn’t as unnerving as it might have been—we knew my husband had gone through these episodes as a child. So I asked my mother-in-law how many months it would take for our girl to outgrow this phase. “Months? Try years,” she said, laughing, and explained that my husband didn’t sleep consistently until he turned 5. I didn’t laugh. I was too busy calculating all that future lost sleep. Fortunately, our daughter grew out of the phase sooner than that, and now I, too, can laugh at our misery—while being thankful it’s over.
4 R E A L S I M P L E F E B RUARY 2018
But sleep can still be elusive; like nearly everyone I know, I wish I got more of it. Don’t you? It’s of course essential for feeling and looking your best, and when it doesn’t happen, it can throw everything off-kilter. (I blame insomnia for the time I locked the keys in the car…while it was running.) And while most of us have heard about the importance of good sleep routines (which is why my iPhone sleeps in the kitchen and not the bedroom), less attention has been paid to the positive impact your bedroom decor can have on your sleep. In “Design Your Bedroom for Better Sleep” (page 88), we offer three distinct room styles, with tips for creating a more restful experience. And to help kids of any age get better sleep, check out our story “How to Beat the Bedtime Blues” (page 61). Whenever I don’t sleep well, I overeat, and I don’t reach for a salad or a nice piece of fruit—crinkle fries call my name. In “Healthy Little Food Swaps That Taste So Good” (page 82), you’ll find crave-worthy yet nutritious options. Since February weather sometimes means staying in and getting cozy, our food editors bring you “Staples from Scratch” (page 96), with recipes for basics like chicken stock and hot cocoa mix. If you’re the type of person who cooks to relax, you may find them especially calming. Enjoy!
SWEET DREAMS On February 8, I’ll be at the West Elm store in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood bringing Real Simple’s sleepbetter tips to life with a panel of experts from West Elm, Leesa, and Mindfresh. For more about this and other events, visit westelm .com, where you can also enter to win prizes such as a $1,000 West Elm gift card.
Follow me on Twitter @lyazel and Instagram @leslieyazel
Photograph by Rob Howard
F A S H I O N S T Y L I N G B Y A LY S S A D I N E E N ; H A I R B Y M AT T H E W M O N Z O N ; M A K E U P B Y K AT I E J A N E H U G H E S
E d i t o r ’s N o t e
