Hola everyone:
If you’ve been reading for a while you have probably gotten to know me fairly well: I write with passion, and I’m passionate about . . . well, almost everything. So those of you who are regulars just know we might begin venturing even further off-topic than usual. Don’t worry, you’ll love it. Onto sleepy stuff.
See that beautiful, bleary-eyed black and white photo? That’s my morning, every morning. I am not a morning person. If I had my choice, I’d live the life of a vampire, rising with the setting sun, and hissing at the rising sun on the way back to my dark cozy coffin in the morning. Alas, I live in the real world. What’s a girl to do?
Much to my chagrin, I need sleep. I’m more effective and all-around more happy with my life when I’m not analyzing it all on 3-5 hours of sleep. I hate going to bed early but not as much as I love a clear mind and productivity.
Sleep deprivation is real guys. One of the best ways to irritate any condition you have is to do silly stuff like NOT SLEEP. One of the best things I’ve ever done for myself is to set a bedtime alarm. Yes, that’s right: at 10:00, I have an application called To Bed notify me that I have 30 minutes until bedtime. Do I always listen? Of course not. Some nights I decide that the lure of Netflix or Pinterest is too much to resist and I MUST stay up or else I’ll miss everything. The next morning, I always regret it. ALWAYS. Here are my three easy-to-implement tips for getting that shut-eye:
- Take a warm shower about 30 minutes before bedtime. – it works for babies, right? Gets you into sleep mode
- If you get a brilliant idea at bedtime, write it down: I cannot tell you how much sleep I’ve lost to a midnight stroke of genius. If it is that brilliant, it’ll keep until morning.
- Use your electronics sparingly or not at all: I live attached to my phone. I know you do too, so there’s no use telling you not to have it. Just TRY to use it sparingly at bedtime, ok?
- Use isochronic and binaural tones to help you get some shut-eye.
- Try some ASMR. That stuff is SO relaxing.
- Set the room up for sleep. Try to limit the amount of non-sleep stuff you do in your room.
Give those a try, and share your favorite tips in the comments. Sweet dreams!
Until next time,
René
Rene, brilliant idea about writing down any inspired ideas! They will keep until morning. I have to admit, this works in the middle of the night and early morning as well. Apparently, I’m hit with the lightening bolt quite a bit after a little dreaming and that notepad by my bed is getting well used.
Great article!
These are great ideas! It’s almost 3am right now and I’m still awake, so I might try your warm shower suggestion 🙂
I’m so glad you found value in them! How did the shower work?