After sleeping in late from staying up until 2 a.m. during quarantine, I decided that something MUST be done. So I thought I’m going to sleep earlier so I can wake up at a reasonable hour, and did just that. Here are tips on how I’ve found ways to get to sleep earlier, and how you can too!
- Put that phone down
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Coming from a Gen Z, the idea of this seems off-putting. I spend hours of time scrolling through TikTok (NGL the ‘For You’ page is addicting). Then it turns into looking at Instagram, Twitter for a good laugh, Facebook, VSCO, and whatever else I could do to distract myself from going to sleep. Putting your phone on silent even an hour before you’d normally go to sleep is so helpful. Also, setting your phone screen to Do Not Disturb and Night Shift, which uses warmer tones instead of cooler tones on your phone screen, helps too.
- Read up
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After all this downtime in quarantine, I’ve learned there’s lots of time to do other things. One new-found love is reading on my Kindle (basic, I know, but it’s just so easy to hold). Reading helps to calm yourself down and put your mind into sleep mode.
- Journal
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I love writing, and recently I’ve really been into journaling. TBH I don’t know how to journal “correctly,” but in my mind, there’s no right or wrong way. It just helps to write your thoughts down like what you hope for the future, to reflect, and anything else you might think of. It’s also enjoyable to get different colored markers or pens and write different journal entries in all kinds of colors.
- Meditate
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One thing to try to help calm your body and mind if you want a break from, well, thinking, is to meditate. There are so many helpful apps to discover that are free for guided meditation, one of which is called Headspace, which I like to use. You can set how long you’d like to meditate for, it’s that easy.
- Practice self-care
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You can’t go wrong with a face mask and a bath, right? Practicing self-care, however that looks for you BTW, is an easy way to relax after a long day of Zoom University. Even playing your favorite September playlist with mellow music helps too. I’ve been loving the “Relax” playlist on Apple Music, but there are obviously tons out there to listen to.
Trying one (or more) of these tips can help you get to sleep earlier and get a better night’s rest.