I think one of the biggest reasons most of us struggle to reach our goals is simply being tired.
When I’m tired, I find it more difficult to make wise food choices.
When I’m tired, I find it more difficult to not only exercise but if I do exercise the intensity is lacking.
When I’m tired, I’m grumpier with the kids, who are often the reason I’m tired.
In no particular order, here are the things that help me, confirmed by my sleep gadget.
Getting to bed earlier certainly helps, once I get over the “I’m a grown up I don’t need to be in bed by 10pm” attitude. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it’s thought that every hour sleep before midnight is worth two.
Being consistent with bedtime and wake up time is vital, our body and brains love routine. Try to stick to 30 minutes either side of your optimal time.
Having the room slightly cooler than you think really helps.
If you exercise in the evening, a cool shower might be necessary. I find a cold shower on the nights I do jiu jitsu, quite literally chills me out and I get to sleep much quicker than when I don’t.
Morning sunshine, getting outside for a little walk when the day first gets bright helps to set your body clock.
No caffeine after 12pm, I’ll have a rare cup of tea on Jitz days as I know I’ll be up later.
Stop eating after my evening meal and try to make that at least 3 hours before going to bed. Eating late or a really large evening meal has a big effect on my sleep quality.
No alcohol. I can get away with a couple of beers in the afternoon but anything after 5 leads to me having terrible sleep quality. I can’t take the hangovers with my feral children anyway.
An eye mask. The kids like to have a light on during the night, my eye mask means I have pitch black darkness.
Sleep meditation. I use an app that guides you in to a deeper sleep.
They are the main things that I know help me personally and are in my control. Our boy jumps in most nights still and barely stops moving which negatively affects my sleep quality, so I have to focus on the things that help.
Not using a screen or my phone in bed would probably help too. I haven’t got a book on the go at the minute, so do have a little doom scroll before lights out.
A little reminder to myself to start a new fiction book.
Darren “Sleepy” Checkley
