Real Self-Care: Sleep

This post is part of a month-long series on Real Self-Care for world-changers. It’s about the experimentation: figuring out what works for you and following your heart. Simple, messy and everything in between. Self-care should be custom, intuitive, feasible and kind – to serve your actual life.

Sleep

Sleep is a really big topic, so I’ll just share one quick tip today: turn off your screens. This has made a huge difference in the quality of my sleep, and my ability to fall asleep more quickly. I’ve set a cut-off time of 9pm when screens are off and I’m getting quiet: reading, getting ready for bed, snuggling with the cats… And not having that input makes a difference for how quickly I’m able to settle myself.

Set a time for yourself when screens are off – and you are powering down.

There’s no need to keep refreshing email or checking Twitter one more time; just turn it off and let your brain rest, without constant input.

The other dimension of this is that it creates a signal (through the act of turning off my phone) for my body that it’s time to start powering down. While I’m moving through my evening routine, I can feel myself getting sleepier, because my body knows. Once the phone is off, sleep is imminent. And even if I do have an odd night where it’s tough to get to sleep, my brain isn’t having the same cravings for technology, so I’m able to enjoy simply being in the dark with myself.

Over time, I’ve noticed that the nights when I have trouble sleeping are much fewer and farther between. Plus, it’s nice to actually talk to my husband or read a book together than it is to be side by side scrolling through our devices.