You guys: I am NOT actually a night person. So, why do I constantly find myself staying up too late, watching too much Netflix, and feeling groggy the next day?
As many of you know, one of the biggest reasons I started this blog was to inspire myself to move towards creating a more substantial life: living with more intention and purpose. I am not a very disciplined person. Like, at all.
So, my thinking was if I write it down, put it “out there” amongst my friends and readers, and reflect on what goals I have — well, maybe I’ll actually DO IT.
That’s the idea, anyway. Keep me honest, won’t you?
I don’t know about you, but I am personally really sick and tired (ha!) of feeling lethargic, achy, and just not as happy with myself! WHY am I staying up that additional hour that I’ll never get back?
Who’s with me? Please tell me I’m not alone in this bad habit.
Here’s the scene: I’ve already worked all day (writing is my hobby: my actual job is in local magazine sales + I am the garden educator at our local school!), I surely made something from scratch and did laundry, tended my garden, cleaned up the house, made multiple dinners, did dishes, read aloud with my family, watched a show with hubby, got my son to bed…where’s the “ME TIME???”
You see, there’s the problem. By the time my husband and son go to bed around 9 pm, I haven’t been able to wind down much at all nor have I had any time to Netflix-And-Chill with something I want to watch!
Something has gotta give, here…
This is all about a bad habit! I get into the habit of staying up after everyone else has gone to bed. Why? Am I truly benefiting from the trash reality shows that I usually watch? Is that extra glass of wine REALLY benefiting me in any way, shape, or form? Am I gaining anything here? (besides weight…)
I think we all know the answers to those questions!
So — I have decided to take it upon myself to do the following:
- Getting dinner done earlier
- Leaving the dishes for the morning if I feel like it!
- Spending more time in the hot tub than staring at the TV (should also help me fall asleep faster…)
- Starting my bedtime routine WHEN everyone else goes to bed
- Ensuring I do my bedtime bathroom routine: wash face, brush teeth, apply oils
- Read for 30 minutes
- Lights Out!
Ideally, I’ll be turning the lights off between 9:30-9:45 pm every evening. In order to help myself create this beneficial new habit (remember I mentioned not being self-disciplined?) I have created a Sleep Tracker!
And, you can benefit from my Sleep Tracker Here.
As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of self-care and maintaining one’s mental health! There are lots of studies out there that discuss how longer + better quality sleep — along with an earlier bedtime — actually makes people happier. So, why am I not ensuring that something as critical to my health as sleep is one of my highest priorities?
Remember that song “Hard Habit To Break?” Yeeeeeeahhhhh……that’s why! Habits – especially the bad ones – are incredibly difficult to break! It is human nature. While I don’t think it is good to beat myself up, I also feel it is important to set myself up for success. Hence, the Sleep Tracker.
This Sleep Tracker will assist you (and muah!) build up long-lasting sleep habits. I suggest you do as I am: use the tracker in conjunction with more tips below and make yourself accountable. The Sleep Tracker is also an essential tool because it will allow you to actually visually see your progress. I have to have things like this in order to commit — so my hope is that the Sleep Tracker will help you, too!
Tips + Tricks For Getting To Bed Earlier:
1. Focus On Baby Steps….
The idea here is to not expect this earlier bedtime to happen overnight. Work on gradually changing your sleep schedule. Especially if you are a natural night owl, you may find that the transition from going to bed late to considerably earlier takes some getting used to. I ended up going to bed earlier in 10-minute increments each evening. I am still working on it, and I know eventually this earlier bedtime will become my new habit. It has gotten easier with each passing evening.
The mind and body stores memory and habits — so just be patient with yourself and remember that this is a process. I felt really “awake” the first few nights. I kept tossing and turning because my mind was used to going to bed later. I find apps like Headspace help me. Or, perhaps try starting at your tippy toes and relaxing each section of your body until you get to the top of your head. Just remember this will take time. Be zen with the process.
2. Set A Reminder
Once you have sussed out how much earlier you have to attempt to go to sleep each night, setting yourself up with (regular!) reminders has proven critical for me. For me, I utilize good ole’ Alexa for this! She reliably reminds me 30 minutes before 9 pm so that I can more easily commit to getting up, turning the black box OFF, and following through!
3. Revise + Commit To Your Bedtime Routine
Admittedly, this is a super hard one for me! My bad habit had been to either fall asleep on the couch (my mother has always done the same — it’s like reading putting folks to sleep, but for my mom and I it is actually the TV that does it!) or to just turn that screen off and crash into bed. I hate to admit this, but I had always been pretty terrible about washing my face, brushing my teeth, or applying moisturizer when I was a younger lass. Well, I’m paying for that now! As someone who has suffered from acne rosacea ever since getting pregnant (12 years ago!)Â I can now tell you that I really WISH I had treated my skin a lot better when I was younger…
Nowadays, I don’t tend to skip any of this unless I’m realllyyy tired. But, since going to bed earlier I have noticed that I actually started to truly enjoy this process. It is like a mini spa treatment for me and I just feel so much more relaxed! I think having even a short amount of time between turning off the telly and actually hitting the pillow really does make a difference!
I really believe eating dinner earlier and stopping all electronic use earlier has made a significant difference.
I have also been much better about wearing my blue light glasses! Not only while on my laptop, but at night while watching TV. Wearing these glasses will help your eyes adjust to the brightness of the screen light, and also help your natural sleep cycles. The glasses are non-polarized and offer ultraviolet protection for your peepers!
4. Change Up Your Exercise Regimen
I noticed a huge difference when I transitioned from walking every evening to walking in the morning. It is like my body isn’t as amped up – even though my walk was a few hours before I hit the sheets.
I also noticed a huge improvement in falling asleep by using our hot tub each evening before going to bed! Now I know not everyone has access to a hot tub, but most folks have either a bathtub or a shower! It has the exact same effect! I also noticed that since I took up spinning in my garage again (I am not good at sticking to this – keep me honest on this one, too, please!)Â that even on the days when I spin in the morning, I actually FEEL so much more tired and ready to get some zzzzzz’s. So, even though I totally recognize it is super hard for most folks to fit in time for exercise, I can attest to the power of simply physically tiring yourself out and its relation to falling asleep faster!
5. Avoid Liquids An Hour Before Bed
Okay, okay – so remember I mentioned the wine? Yeahhhhh – I can’t always commit to this one. But, when I do, I notice it seriously helps me not wake up to hit the bathroom in the middle of the night. I always have a large glass of water on my nightstand — but on the nights when I intentionally stop drinking water/wine/whatever 30 + minutes before I know I will be hitting the mattress, I absolutely sleep better.
6. Utilize Essential Oils
As many of you know, I have used doTERRA Essential Oils for many, many years now. I am not only a Wellness Advocate for doTERRA but a committed + loyal customer — even during times when I wasn’t also sharing their products! I haven’t stopped using the oils (or any of the other products!) for over 10 years now. They are just that good.
I can honestly tell you that whenever I diffuse calming essential oils each night I fall asleep faster. AND: I STAY asleep.
My favorites? Serenity, Vetiver, Cedarwood, Roman Chamomile, and Petitgrain. I also utilize the Serenity soft gels a lot and find those truly make a difference. It simply doesn’t take me as long to fall asleep when I take them! I love the dim, mood-enhancing light from my diffuser: it is like my brain sees that, with the vapors coming out the top — and just knows it’s time for sleep….
I truly believe that making this small switch is improving the quality (and length!) of my life. As a super busy mother with too many commitments, it can be incredibly easy to put yourself last. I hope this post has reminded you, dear reader, to gift this to yourself.
You deserve this!
As always, look for another post soon, and remember that sharing is caring! Share this post with another family member or friend who you think needs the reminder – just as I did! There aren’t a lot of things I can think of that are more important than sleep. So, lights out!
Always Here,
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