Winding Down At Night

A lot of people plop into bed after a long day and expect to fall asleep right away. Our brains don’t like that, nor do they work like that. It’s why, after a long day, when we should be tired, we toss and turn and stare at the ceiling for hours until, if you’re like me, eventually forget sleeping altogether until it catches up to you and says, ‘Uh-uh, I don’t like that.’

That’s why having a ritual before bed, whether it’s reading a book or writing in the three notebooks I’ve mentioned creating in previous articles, or anything else that could help your brain to relax. For some, it’s creating chamomile tea or drinking warm milk mixed with honey. For others, it’s brushing your teeth or taking a bath.

Having a way to wind down before bed, things that will help you relax and help turn your ‘day brain’ off, will allow you to sleep that much better, without having anxiety at night.

Everyone has their own ritual out there, waiting to be adopted and adapted to their everyday life. 

There are only a few rituals out there that we tend to do before bed that will keep us awake instead of helping us sleep, and those include anything involving a screen. In order to fully wind down from the day, having a bright light in your face, even if it’s just a television, will trick our minds into believing it’s still daylight. If our brains believe it’s still daylight outside, they’ll be tricked into believing they need to stay awake. As a rule of thumb, you should be away from screens at least an hour before bed. 

No checking your phone. 

No scrolling on a tablet. 

No watching commercials and three episodes of your favorite television show on whatever given streaming platform.

If the light tricks your brain to be awake, you will not be able to sleep when its time to go to bed.

If you read on a tablet, make sure it’s the kind that doesn’t have its own backlight. Books are an excellent thing to do before bed. The repetition of word after word, line after line, and page after page allows the mind to relax and might even allow you to drift off while still holding the book upright. There have been many a time when in bed that my reading would hit my face as I drifted off into dreamland.

No nightly coffee, unless it’s decaf.

It’s best for a meal to be at least partially digested before bed.

But, other than that, your nightly routine, whatever helps you to wind down at night, is completely left up to you. You could journal, create daily gratifications, create lists, read a book, write some poetry… anything that works for you.

Don’t forget to brush your teeth!