Marina Pen, NYC entrepreneur with 2 ‘small hurricanes,’ rates her sleep an 8/10
Age: Rocking my 40s and very peri
Occupation: Co-founder of NNABI, a perimenopause wellness company. Also a full-time brand strategist working in advertising. And a mom of two boys.
Location: New York, New York
Lifestyle in a nutshell: Wife, mom of two small tornadoes, brand strategist by day, wellness founder by night, and perpetually chasing sunlight, sleep, and some version of balance.
Follow me here: @nnabi.life
Self-assessed sleep rating: 8 out of 10
Why did you rate your sleep an 8?
I sleep like my life depends on it, I’ve worked hard to earn that 8! These days I average 7 hours a night, sometimes 8-ish if the stars align. I try to be in bed by 10 PM, which isn’t always easy with two young kids, a startup, a full-time job, and perimenopause in the mix.
But I’ve learned that sleep is the foundation everything else rests on — my energy, my mood, my focus, even what I crave to eat the next day. A few years ago I thought I could function on less sleep, and I paid for it with brain fog, burnout, and zero patience. Now, sleep is non-negotiable.
It’s not always perfect — there are still 3 a.m. wakeups, a snoring partner, and the occasional midnight Lego injury, but it’s consistent. And that’s my win.
My sleep tips and hacks
So many, all earned through trial and error. Here are five that really work for me:
- No alcohol at night. It wrecks my sleep quality. I’ve swapped it for non-alcoholic cocktails (Lapo’s is my current favorite).
- A hot shower or sauna blanket session to release the tension of the day, especially after a day of wrangling emails, kids, household chores, homework and more.
- My Oura ring. It’s helped me get honest about what’s helping and what’s not, optimizing and staying consistent.
- Reading in bed. I always have 2 or 3 books on rotation. I avoid anything that’s going to spike adrenaline or outrage (LOL).
- Meditate. I have my go-to tracks, Lauren Owstroski, Oura meditations, Sara Auster soundbaths, or just plain green noise from Spotify.
On my nightstand
- NNABI Peri Essential 5. My daily non-negotiable, I keep it in my nightstand so I always remember to take it. It’s a multi-layered herbal formula that supports your whole-body health for improved sleep, calmer mood, increased energy, and more, and it has helped me tremendously with my sleep quality, among other things.
- My Therabody eye mask. It blocks out light, massages my forehead and temples, and basically tucks me in. I travel with it everywhere.
- A Vitruvi aromatherapy diffuser. Always with some eucalyptus scent, it’s the shortcut to switching gears.
- Bonus: Earplugs.
This edition of “How’d you sleep?” was originally published here on The Midst Substack. We usually only publish this series in The Midst Substack, so this is a special treat. Sign up for our free newsletter on Substack here.
