These examples are based on waking up at 8:00 AM. Adjust as necessary for your schedule.
1.) No Caffine after 6 pm (or 6 Hours before bedtime)
We live in a time where we are working multiple jobs and long hours to make ends meet. Sometimes the morning cup of joe can turn into an all day coffee Benger if we are not careful. Pulling through the line at Seven Brew a couple times a day is not uncommon. First cup at 8am and by early after noon we are crashing then we are drinking coffee some times until we go to sleep. Obviously coffee contains caffeine witch stimulates your mind however does not actually give you high amounts energy. I like to call it FAKE energy I suggest to limit your coffee to 2 cups of coffee or no more than 300 MG off caffeine in a day. I also recommend to have your last cup before 6 PM. If you need more energy try working out regularly, juicing some fruits and vegies, and working on your diet.
2 No Food or drink after 8PM ( or 4 hours before bedtime)
Its simple really. Even with out science to back me up. Eating and drinking cause our body to digest. When our body is digesting our body is having to work. If our body is working than our system is no able to rest as needed. This can turn into tossing and turning. I learned in school many years ago that on average it takes about four hours for our bodies to complete the digestive phase. I like to give it an extra hour so i can relieve my self before bed if need be. On an 8Am wake up schedule i go to sleep by Midnight which means i should stop eating and drink by 8:00pm. This should allow my body to shutdown as needed and also keeping me from waking up to use the restroom in the middle of the night. Be sure to stay hydrated throughout the day. My rule of thumb is take your bodyweight and divide it by 2. that is how much water you should drink in a day.
3. Sleep a full 8 hours (with a 30 minute buffer)
Plan to sleep a full 8 hours. We should be hitting at least two rem cycles through the night. Easier said than done but at least count back 8 from the time you need to wake . I add a 30 minute buffer for my self this gives me time to decompress by listen to some music, or read a book or magazine. I know its hard to sleep a full 8. Sometimes our bodies just have other plans and sometimes we may not need it and are able to get up and go on 4 or 6. but you should at least give your body the time to do what it needs todo. i promise you will feel better in the long run, you are not gonna miss out on much if anything, and you will naturally start being more productive.
4. No TV or phone in bedroom
As people we like to stay occupied . Even more so in the new age of tech. With a tv in most rooms and a phone or tablet within a arms length away we have adapted an unhealthy dependence on these items wither to pass time to stay entertained. How does this fix your rough sleeping pattern yo may ask. Well is quiet simple.. You need to keep these items out of the bedroom. Find a new place for the TV, and phone. computer and phone.
But i need some noise to Fall asleep
Yes many of us like to listen to music or keep the TV on for a little background noise to fall asleep. However even though you may be able to initially drift to sleep However unfortunately our ears don't close. we may be sleeping but we can still be processing what is coming from the tv or the music playing from you phone. Have you ever been in a light sleep and been dreaming of what is coming from the tv, maybe a theme song, i have. Also what happens is we end up getting annoyed and wake up to turn off the radio or tv witch ends up restarting our sleep cycle. So please take the tv out of the room. I suggest a small record player. Why a record player Phil? well for one they are awesomely nostalgic, but also they are two sided, one side is usually no more than 20 minutes long. So just as you drift to sleep to your favorite record you don't have to wake up to turn it OFF.
but i need my phone for an alarm clock
No leave your phone Charging in another room. Even when sleeping we can still process and anticipate things. This is why we often wake up just minutes or seconds before our alarm goes off. Not to mention many of us have multiple alarms set . here is the problem with that. Not only are we not sleeping right in in anticipation, wear also waking up to the first few alarms and hitting snooze because we know we have mor alarms left. so for the last hour or two we could be deep sleeping. We are waking every 10 to 15 minutes checking the time and dosing back off to a light sleep.so to fix this Charge your phone in another room and set to silent with zero alarms. And buy a basic analog alarm clock. I prefer a simple AM/FM with no more than 2 alarm sets. Set it up Far enough away from the bed so you have to get up to snooze. I like to set it to a radio station with a news report or morning also this is Moe pleasant than some loud music and keeps me from hating my favorite songs by associating them with being annoying.
But what if someone needs to get ahold of me in the middle of the night?
Yes in this age we feel the need to be available at anytime of the day. Maybe so your job can reach you, or maybe for emergencies with friends or family. So we place our phone next to us when we sleep just in case. But i want you to count the times in the last 6 months you have actually had to use them I'm gonna guess you could count that number with 1 hand. For me that number is 0. Remember that for many years we lived on landlines, we left messages and we lived life without immediate direct contact. There was no being upset about being left on read because texting wasn't a thing, e saved toes conversations for when we hd time to sit on the phone for a minute, or actually meetup in person. Yes of course there will be situations when you need to keep your phone close, maybe your son or daughter is out on a date and you need to be sure to be InTouch, or maybe your on call for work. yeah tats fine but crank the sound up so you can hear from the other room. This will not only increase your deep sleep , but also is a way to curb your stress from worry.
5 . The 3 cleans (Clean room, Clean body, and clean mind)
CLEAN ROOM
Keep a tidy room this is essential for a quality nights rest. Make sure your Floors are clean and free of debris. All surfaces must be cleaned and organized. I recommend keeping the bedrum very minimalistic and somewhat Zen like. Keep up with dirty laundry and if your dresser or closet is in this room keep the laundry folded or hung up. Keep a small trashcan in this room to keep yourself from throwing trash on the floor. Every Morning it makes a good habit to make your bed everyday and wash your Sheets and pillows on a weekly basis. Ad a candle and a few plants to really vibe Zenlike. Do these things and you will sleep more comfortably.
CLEAN BODY
After a long shift at work we sometimes wanna just walk in in the house. Leave a trail of our work attire on the floor and climb into bed. But not only is that hygienically not the best thing to do. it can also negatively affect your slumber. You don't have to spend 45 minutes in the shower, most likely you are gonna wake up and take another one anyways. But a good 5 to ten minute hot shower can relax your muscles and just all in all make you feel clean and refreshed. and of course keeps your bedding just that much cleaner.
CLEAN MIND
now that the room is nice and clan and you feeling fresh i challenge you to clear your mind. Spend a few minutes getting out any thoughts or ideas that are waying heavy on you mind. Do this by journaling about your day or struggles your facing, maybe you have a goal or business idea that you keep thing about spend a few minutes sketching a plan of action to get it going. Maybe your behind on some bills and not sure what to do . Well light that candle, turn on a vinyl and create a budget to meet your financial goals. All in all getting these things on paper will put you at ease and allow you to sleep peacefully through the night.
NO Alcohol
Maybe your not an alcoholic or drug attic. You just enjoy that glass of wine while your cooking dinner for the family. Maybe you have a ritual of smoking a little ganja before bed. Need to realize that alcohol is a depressant and can help you relax and fall asleep if your a little wound up from the day. However it also dehydrates the body increases heart rate. Making for a unpleasant sleep tossing and turning am probably waking up to pee or get a drink in the middle of the night. If you must drink keep it minimal and follow it up with some good ol H20. Give your self a few hours to use the restroom before bed and definitely give your self the full
No Drugs
Yes drugs if you want better sleep the say no to drugs. I'm not just talking about marijuana and hard narcotics i would hope that is obvious that any uppers downers or psycadelic will have a negative impact on your sleep. What i wanton hit harder is the over the counter drugs that we use ever so frequently. The first one i can think of is Melatonin Pills these are meant for people with melatonin deficiencies, not to suck down like Tic-Tacs every time we go to bed. I'm even seeing people giving there children under 12 years old melatonin on a regular basses' am not a doctor but that just doesn't seem healthy to me. Common problems keeping kids awake is too much blue light screen time they need to be limited and give here mind some time to wind down. Also take them outside we stay inside to much have a early supper and take them to there park or ride there bicycle let them naturally release the energy. Quit with the OTC meds. A couple years ago i had a headache and took an Advil PM i slept like baby. So the next night i took another. I did this frequently for a couple of weeks and a couple bottles of pills before i realized i was not getting real sleep. yes my eyes would be shut and id be unconcise but i was not hitting the rem cycles deep enough. Soi quit that. Now i just wake up early , do my best to exert energy through the day , balance out my calories with eating better and exercise.
7. No more taking naps
We take naps some times around brunch after we woke at 5Am and dropped the kids off at school. Or maybe mid afternoon after the chores around the house are done we sit down to relax and we knock out for a couple of hours. These naps definitely feel good in the moment but they might be doing more damage than good. If your following the first 7 steps then you shouldn't need the nap. You should be getting the full 8hours you need. After a nap you restart your internal clock wen you should be on a sleep 8 awake 16 hour schedule. Now you just threw it off a couple of hours so you will be awake a little longer than causing you to sleep less at night disrupting the pattern to a good nights rest. Now your mind and body is all jacked up again. So no napping find other ways to regain that energy. Maybe you need some sunlight, or a little snack to pick your self up. I've found that going to the Gym defiantly gets my heart pumping and i feel a little more refreshed after i leave. Work on your diet maybe your not getting all the nutrients you need. Hemberger energy has a lot to do with a good calorie balance. Just quit napping and you will sleep better at night.
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