When I was pondering my bedtime routine, I had two categories to begin with:
- Preparation
- Relieving my Insomnia
And the category of “Preparation” involves:
- Prepare my body
- Prepare my mind
- Prepare my space
- Prepare for the next day
Relieving my insomnia was really important, even though things like “prepare my mind” and “prepare my body” overlap it. So what helps me sleep?
- Drinking tea with chamomile, lavender, or valerian root.
- Putting tea tree or lavender oil in my diffuser
- avoiding screens
- nighttime shower
- yoga or stretching
- having water or a snack nearby for when I wake up in the wee morning hours. I like to make a probiotic drink mix that I have before breakfast.
With this in mind, I created the following routine:
- Make Tea (prep my body)
- Make probiotic drink (prep my space/body)
- Plan tomorrow (prep my day)
- Journal (prep my mind)
- Prep Space- set out clothes, take pillows off the bed, start diffuser, tidy, turn off lights and electronics, charge phone, etc
- Put on Pajamas (prep my body)
- Dental Hygiene (prep my body)
- Wash Face (prep my body)
- Yoga/Stretch (prep my mind/body)
- Read (prep my mind)
And, of course, I also use the sheet-protector-and-dry-erase-marker method.
Questions
Do you have a bedtime routine? Does it work for you? Tell me all about it.
This makes you sound very disciplined. When I’m tired at night, my well-intentioned routines are the first things to go. Can you get yourself to do all this every night?
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Well. I do not have children or pets or anyone else to get to bed. Having the sheet to check off helps. I get sidetracked often and easily, but then I wonder what I’m doing and look at my chart. I play a podcast or a youtube show as I do some of these. I skip Yoga and reading sometimes.
But, yeah. My schedule is a lot more flexible nowadays, so I start at nine or ten. Only sometimes do I miss a night. But I know I’ll feel better if I do it, so I do.
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