Everything feels frazzled and useless when you don't get proper sleep and that too mindful sleep. In this blog post, I am going to share how an evening schedule changed my life. Also how it improved my sleep schedule and enhanced my wellbeing.
A night of proper sleep can make you feel refreshed after a long day at work and most importantly it can give you the right kind of mindset to wake up the next day. If you are feeling tired or exhausted in the morning that might be because of your improper sleeping routine. As it is said, "with what emotion you go to sleep with is a possibility to wake up with the same". So let's see how we can improve our sleep and also how we can make things less blurry right after you wake up.
Sleeping hours
Sleep is an important factor regarding wellbeing. If your sleep schedule is ruined your life is too. Babies till age 5 require a minimum of 13 hours of sleep. While the ones between the age group of 6 to 12 require 9 to 12hrs of sleep. While teenagers require 8 to 10hrs of sleep and an average adult requires at least 7hrs sleep. This shows that sleep is an important factor within our 24hrs. Researchers have found that by the end of life on average we spend thirty-three years in bed (seven years just trying to sleep). That's a huge chunk of your life. This shows that sleep is really important. Prioritize your sleeping hours so that you can have a productive day. Even if you are working hard or studying for your exams you need to sleep properly. We feel sleepy because our bodies are regulated by our circadian rhythm, which cycles through heating and cooling patterns throughout the day. As we begin to feel tired at the end of the day, our melatonin production increases and our core body temperature decreases. This decrease in body temperature continues throughout the night. Also, you should sleep till 10.00 because the body starts releasing growth hormone and if you aren't sleeping at that time it can increase your bad cholesterol. So if you are not giving yourself enough rest or sleep theirs a chance of premature death. Don't neglect sleep.
Things to do for having a better sleep If you are feeling exhausted or tired it's a sign that you need some rest as your body starts releasing more melatonin. Whenever you feel it just take a nap if it's during the daytime. Because if you are sleeping for long hours during daytime there might be a possibility that you won't be able to sleep during the night. Take a nap for maybe 30mins maximum when you feel tired not more than that. [please set a timer don't believe yourself when it's "sleep"] These are some of the measures you need to take before going to bed for better sleep.
1] Avoid screens 1hr before sleeping- This thing has changed my life a lot. When you look at bright screens like a phone, laptop, or TV your brain gets confused whether it's day or night. It keeps thinking that it's a day, that causes sleeplessness. Even avoid using your phone an hour before going to sleep. Instead of scrolling through your phone read a book. But avoid screens. Most importantly if you are not able to get rid of your phone 1hr before at least avoid it when you are on your bed because when the lights are off and you look at the phone's screen it can create severe issues regarding your eyes.
2] Have a positive mindset- As I said earlier with what emotion you go to sleep with is a possibility to wake up with the same. So if your emotion is like "Oh what a bad day today was, another boring day". This will nothing but create monotonicity when you wake up and again you will return to bed with the same feeling. Instead keep your emotions high, express gratitude that will release so dopamine and will create a happier atmosphere. You can also say to yourself that "today was a great day and also I am grateful to God for this wonderful life which you have gifted and also I am eager for tomorrow". When you are always excited for the day you won't feel bored or tired. This is the same feeling you might have a day before going on the school trip because you are so excited about it that you are unable to sleep as you don't know what is going to happen the next day. [I mean excitement you need sleep so don't build monuments in the air 😆]
3] Avoid looking at the clock- This thing always happens with me. I used to wake up from sleep in the middle of the night thinking that I have missed my alarm and try to look at the clock. This used to create a problem because my flow used to break thinking about how much time I have left for sleep. So even if you wake up in the middle of the night avoid looking at the phone or the clock.
4] Cut the caffeine- Consuming caffeine can create severe sleep disorders like insomnia. Avoid caffeinated drinks at least 10hrs before going to bed. You heard me right 10hrs. So if you are sleeping at 10 pm the last cup of coffee should be consumed between 11 to 12 noon. Because coffee or caffeinated drinks cause sleeplessness as caffeine acts on your body and creates a dam between you and your sleep. Once the effect of caffeine is over you get a "crash" which means "feeling more exhausted than ever before". Caffeine has its effect for almost 9 to 10hrs.
The evening routine The evening routine which I have has a lot of influence on my whole working schedule. In the morning I keep all the high-intensity tasks. While in the evening I plan the tasks which require less focus. Your morning should include the tasks which are important to you. In the evening as your body starts releasing melatonin you start feeling tired and sleepy. So at that time, I do some creative things like writing this blog post or learning something new which is not boring, and also reading books.
The shutdown routine This idea comes from Dr. Cal Newport's book "Deep Work" where he says that how he made an evening routine for himself where at that time he does the work which requires less focus and plans all the things for the next day and checks whether there are no important Emails to deal with so that after figuring out every single thing he shuts down his whole work and just spends rest of the day with his family. This method had a great influence on me. So at the end of the day, I figure out the things I have to do the next day and completes the tasks, and then call it a day after I shut down my whole working process and just relax.
Make the perfect evening routine for yourself because just as many important mornings are evening are important too. Figure out what suits you the best and align accordingly by prioritizing your sleep schedule.
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Cheers✌.
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