Bedtime routines help you with being consistent about your sleep health. It’s hard to sleep with more than a million things on your mind or the worry of what we are now facing such as the pandemic. Most of us can’t sleep even when the light goes out. The thoughts of the day sort of streamline above you.
This was always my problem sleep, it was either too much or never enough. Truly poor sleep can lead to alot of trouble. I’m sure you know what it’s like the next day. Grogginess, headaches, inability to focus. The hardest part was actually telling my body when it was time to sleep.
Only a routine can solve this problem. A bedtime routine helps you fall asleep but it takes practice. Start by trying my tips below by first establishing the right amount of sleep. Next, build a night routine that suits you, then if you should fail. Try again. Develop these tips I’m going to share with you to help you get started.
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1. Pick a Time and Stick to it
Finding the right amount of sleep takes some trial and error. Keep in mind the number of hours of sleep you need can change. Most people can function on 7 or 8 but you might need 9. When you have an idea it also helps to know how not to oversleep.
Trust me too much sleep is actually a thing. To figure out how many hours I needed to sleep one weekend I decided to track my sleeping hours. From the time I fell asleep to 1 I woke up naturally, it was about eight and a half hours. I recommend doing this sometimes throughout the year to see when your body changes and how much sleep you actually need.
It’s really important that you have a regular sleep cycle. Changing up your sleep routine throws off your internal clock. You should also make sure that you get the same amount of hours of sleep on weekdays as you do on weekends. Sleeping later on the weekends to compensate for the weekdays is not the same. Your body revolves around a 24-hour day. This is best to keep everything regular.
Maximize your morning routine to your benefit
2. Prepare for tomorrow
My actual bedtime routine starts an hour before I decide to go to bed. Usually, within that first hour, I like to prepare for tomorrow. This actually helps save time in the morning when you’re getting ready to go to work. Your mornings feel less rushed and more peaceful.
The first thing I start with is tomorrow’s To-do list. At the end of the day usually have an idea of what is left for the following day. I do this because I don’t want to stress about the things that I didn’t get to while I’m trying to go to sleep. Having fewer things to do in the morning can help you feel better for the start of the day.
Think of some of the Morning Chores is there anything that you can do now to help save you time in the morning?
The next thing I do is prepare what I’m going to wear for myself and my son. Picking out clothes in the morning can take from 10 minutes to half an hour. And I would rather prefer to have that half an hour to myself. If I don’t pick out the outfits the day before I’ll be sleeping thinking about what I want to wear the next day.
What small tasks do you have on your mind before bed? If it takes less than 10 minutes to do that chore instead of rushing to complete it the next day, do it now. Make it part of your bedtime routine and sleep soundly.
With still plenty of time left I like to do any other small chores, I haven’t gotten to throughout the day. For example, I can make lunch for the next day, make sure the sink and dishes are clear. Organize and sort out some paperwork like mail. Clean out my purse and prepare it for the following day.
next, I make a cup of tea, oh, and while it’s still hot I take a shower and wash my face, and do my nightly Spa routine. After I’m done with my nightly small routine Mighty has cooled off long enough to where I can drink it. I usually pick a nice chamomile tea or asleep tea which one of my favorites is Tazo’s Sleep.
At this point, I’m usually reading or meditating or doing yoga structures anything to slow down today. I’m still having trouble sleeping I put on my nighttime mask, it’s one of my favorites. I can actually put it in the microwave for 2 minutes and it has a scent of lavender.
What small tasks do you have on your mind before bed? If it takes less than 10 minutes to do that chore instead of rushing to complete it the next day, do it now. Make it part of your bedtime routine and sleep soundly.
3. Journal to Free Your Mind
Another great way to wind down the day is to do some journaling. Add Journaling to your bedtime routine to free up your mental space. It lets you download everything that’s been in your swirling in your mind throughout the day. Anything that’s been weighing on you throughout the day that you need to let go of.
Seeing you transfer your thoughts to paper is a visual way of it leaving your mental space. This will provide you with a sense of relief. You can either write about your day or anything up in Cumming that might be a future stressor for you. either way, it’s not going to interfere with a good night’s sleep.
4. Cut off caffeine early
I’ve always been a lover of caffeine but I noticed that at a certain point they can actually keep you awake longer than expected. Of good time to stop drinking caffeine is about 6 hours before bedtime. Along with caffeine so is the same with alcohol.
They both can take hours to wear off. Having caffeine in your system can still disrupt your arrest. Try to be disciplined and not breaking this rule if you want to be able to win down naturally. Being hungry in the middle of the night can be an interruption as well.
Make sure you don’t go to bed on an empty stomach otherwise, it will keep you up later. Make sure you don’t drink too many liquids as well because they’ll be more bathroom trips in the middle of the night.
5. Limit the blue light before bed.
It’s hard to resist looking at your phone or tablet before bed. The truth is that the blue light they emit keeps us awake longer. There have been many times when I’m stuck in a scroll and half an hour later I realized that I’ve been wasting time on my phone. Any social media or phone game apps should be steered from because they crave a lot of attention. A good thing to do is to turn off any notifications an hour before bed or turn your phone on do not disturb mode. That doesn’t discount the TV though. Watching a good movie or show before bed can keep us wait a lot longer than expected.
6. Meditate
Meditation is a good practice to help you relax. Start with closing your eyes and taking deep breaths, and how an exhale throughout your nose. Then you can transfer to the regular breath. Make sure that you’re in a nice relaxed sitting position or lying flat on your back. Try focusing your awareness on your thoughts and how your body feels. With most of us being so busy we rarely ever get to check in to see how our body and mind feel. Focus on relaxing any irregular stress and tension from today. Meditation can help you relieve all of this stress physically and mentally. If you’re having trouble with meditation you can listen to a good meditation playlist on Spotify. All so you can listen to Nature Sounds or any soothing sounds that can help you get in a relaxed state.
7. Check your bedding
Does your bed look inviting and ready to be jumped into? If everything is all over the place and a ton of stuff on your bed doesn’t seem like a good way to Cozy up. Make sure your bed seems more attractive to sleep in a nice comfortable bed can help you get better sleep. Change up the type of bedding depending on the season. Try lighter sheets in the summertime and have your blankets in the wintertime. Layer your bed wood options in case you get home cold or too warm in the middle of the night. The fewer times that you have to get up to grab a blanket the better you’re going to sleep.
8. Wear cozy pajamas
I never really been into pajamas not until I realize that it can actually make your body feel more aware of time to go to bed. Before I was just a t-shirt and shorts for a long dress. but there are some really comfortable pajamas out there that I look now look forward to wearing. Sometimes I can’t wait to put them on because I know they’re so soft and comfortable. This gets me more excited to go to sleep.
Great sleep is important for your mind and body. I’ve always believed sleep was a key factor for wellness and health. Create a routine that’s personalized just for you to allow you to get better sleep. It’s really important that you allow your body to wake up feeling refreshed and not overwhelmed. Starting a bedtime routine doesn’t have to be such a rigid thing. Think of it as you giving yourself time for yourself. Having a good night’s sleep gets you ready to take on the next day with more energy.
