Is Your Bedtime Routine Helping or Hurting You?
How well you get up in the morning is a key indicator of how effective your bedtime routine is. Do you pop out of bed ready to take on the world? Or do you wake up sluggish? Groggy from not enough sleep?
If your mornings need improvement, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate what you do at night to close out your day.
In my post, How to Create a Life-Changing Night Routine, I discuss the important steps to consider when evaluating this critical routine. Here are the basics...
1. Get Rid of Bad Habits
Is your nightly Netflix binge getting the better of you? It's time to pay attention.
What do you do in the last hour before bed?
If it isn't something that nourishes your mind or body, re-evaluate quickly. Common toxic habits include mindlessly surfing the web, social media, and binge-watching shows.
Notice that a lot of these harmful habits revolve around technology. So, an easy solution is to create a rule that you turn screens are off one hour before bedtime. Not only will you be keeping that hormone-disrupting blue light away, but you'll be able to wind down your brain the right way instead.
2. Pick the Right Habits to Wind You Down
Now that we're more aware of our bad habits, we'll be able to cut them down. So, let's focus on great ones to begin at night instead. The following is a simple list of habits that are fantastic to do before you fall asleep:
- Journaling and reflecting on your day
- Spending time talking/connecting with a loved one
- Reading
- Stretching
- Doing a mind dump (Here's a free brain dump template to ease your thoughts!)
- Setting things out for the next day (no worries about whether you have what you need!)
3. Create Rituals Around Sleep
Next, make sure you have small habits in place that get you to a solid night's sleep. Putting your thermostat on colder temps, using lamps instead of bright lights, and listening to soothing music are all easy steps to prepare your body for slumber. All you need to do is systemize them.
4. Utilize Your Weekends
Finally, we all enjoy extra time on the weekends, and that can be used to our advantage! So, give yourself the extra love you aren't able to do over the week by taking a bath, doing a long walk/hard workout, or getting a massage. Your body and mind will thank you, and all of these things will help you sleep well during the week.
In Conclusion
Our habits make up a much larger proportion of our lives than most people realize.
So, we can let bad habits hurt us, or we can take control and be intentional about our actions. This starts with a solid morning and night routine. Set yourself up for the success you deserve and give your body the proper rest it requires to be your best. You'll find that you maintain a more productive and calm presence during the day as a result.
"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." - Jim Rohn
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