Following on from yesterdays post about some of the products I’ve found useful for improving sleep quality, I thought I share my routine with you.
My sleep routine starts a lot earlier in the day than you might think.
I don’t drink anything with caffeine in after 2pm; most days this is before 10am. However, sometimes I get the opportunity to have a nice cup of tea and a chat with Fran after lunch.
I don’t eat within 2 hours of going up to bed; most days I have my dinner with the kids at 4.30pm and don’t eat again after that. I brush my teeth with the kids at their bedtime, 6.30pm-ish, which prevents me snacking in the evening then.
If it’s my turn to do bed-time I generally get back downstairs at 7.15pm-ish. I do the dishwasher and either listen to an audiobook or the radio dependent on mood.
7.30pm I’ve started doing 15 minutes of learning; that could be more audiobook or reading a real book. At the minute I’m reading a book about sleep and one about productivity; I’m listening to a book about habits. I pick which one I feel like that day.
Then I have a little browse of social media before catching up on some work from my coach or watching TV, I don’t generally work past 8pm. The stuff from my coach is usually just watching a catch up of a mindset call. I drink a cup of Tulsi tea while doing this.
Fran gets home from work and we watch something together; usually comedy. We’re watching Schitt’s Creek on Netflix at the minute; it is much funnier since I’ve stopped using my phone while watching it.
TV is switched off by 9.30pm, then I do my journal which includes reviewing the day and recording three wins from my day. Fran brings me the drift off formula as I always forget.
Then up to bed. I stopped having my phone in the bedroom last week, so I leave it on the landing with binaural beats playing through a speaker.
Lie on my Shakti Mat while reading fiction and lights off by 10.15pm. I’m trying to get this down to 10pm based on the sleep book I’m reading and experimenting with 90 minute sleep cycle timings.
I put my sleep mask on when the light is off.
That’s the bit I can control. When the kids come in and start wriggling is out of our control; sometimes we switch around beds in the night. That doesn’t seem to affect sleep quality though.
What can you do?
- Eat your evening meal earlier so you’re not still digesting when you go to bed.
- Use a lamp rather than main room light.
- Avoid caffeine from the afternoon.
- If you watch TV, go for comedy or something light. Nothing that will stress you out or play on your mind. Maybe a quick funny as the last thing you watch.
- Switch screens off at least 30 minutes before trying to sleep. I read on an old school kindle.
- Phone on airport mode if you have it in the bedroom.
- Magnesium supplements can really help improve sleep quality, ideally with a little zinc.Drift off formula works for us.
- Get to bed earlier and have a consistent bedtime, aim for the same time at least 5 nights per week.
Darren “snoozing” Checkley
