Last month’s article was all about habits to start your day right, this month we talk about 5 habits before bedtime that I have adapted over the years.
After a long day of activities all you want to do is rest, relax and wind down for the day. Friends and clients have reported of having sleepless night due to the constant mind chatter and long lists of chores to complete the next day.
Being overworked can take its toll on your mind, body and emotions and many a times these are carried to bed, causing unrestful sleep leaving with a feeling of exhaustion.
NO TV before bedtime
Guilty!!! I used to watch a good 2 hours of TV before bedtime, my way of relaxing. I used to say my form of meditation was to binge watch episodes of “Grace and Frankie”, or recent one was “Chicago Meds” on Netflix, not realising that I was absorbing all those people who were involved in accidents and all the blood and conditions.
The worst one was watching News before bedtime. They honestly do not have anything positive to present! All you ever hear about is how much people are suffering due to an incident or event. I was taking all this to bed and having vivid dreams of disasters.
My sleep pattern was inconsistent, and my subconscious mind was in the overdrive mode. With all the activities of the day and now the gory stuff I was watching on TV was consuming my conscious mind. I had to do something about it.
Research shows that you must avoid watching TV, at least an hour before bedtime, and many testify to having a peaceful sleep waking up refreshed the next morning. I vouch for this as I now do not watch News at all and avoid gory TV programs all in all.
My sleep pattern was inconsistent, and my subconscious mind was in the overdrive mode. With all the activities of the day and now the gory stuff I was watching on TV was consuming my conscious mind. I had to do something about it.
Research shows that you must avoid watching TV, at least an hour before bedtime, and many testify to having a peaceful sleep waking up refreshed the next morning. I vouch for this as I now do not watch News at all and avoid gory
Photo by Mohamed Hussain
Keep electronics out of your bedroom
Mobile phones, tablets and iPads are the most devices used during bedtime, again catching up on social media and News that sends the brain into an overdrive of over analysis of all the daily unnecessary dilemmas and drama.
I would get anxiety and panic attacks, especially when friends and competitors did well, and it was my turn to prove to the world that I am as good as them. I was becoming obsessed with competing with others and being the best. There were warning signs about my health condition, and I kept ignoring them, until my body had to scream to seek my attention to slow down and give up on this journey to an early grave.
Amazing how when your body screams that you pay attention and are called to change your lifestyle for the better. I began to not bring any of my electronic devices to bed. I got myself an alarm clock instead of using the alarm on my phone and the next morning I will only look at social media and message after my morning routine.
Photo by Frimbee
Keep a gratitude journal
It is become second nature to complain about what is going wrong in our lives, rather than being grateful about all that we have. Let’s face it, you woke up healthy this morning, enjoyed a hot cup of tea, had warm water to shower and comfortable clothes to wear.
Instead of thinking about the lack of something in your life, think about all the good things you have. Over the recent years I started keeping a gratitude journal, at the end of each day I will sit down and reflect on the day. I list down at least 5 things that I am grateful for on the day.
As part of his morning routine, Dr. Wayne Dyer, never got out of bed until he shed a tear of gratitude for all that he had. So why not pick up a journal and make it a gratitude one. The more you are grateful the more you will have to be grateful for.
Photo by Miesha Moriniere
Read a book for 30 minutes
Oprah Winfrey, Louise Hay, Deepak Chopra, Jay Shetty to a name a few, always have a book by their bedside table to read before bedtime. These books range from self-help to spiritual to positivity and books that will make a difference in your life.
Reading a book for 20 minutes every day is a healthy habit. Being a bookworm, I used to read several books at one time. You see I am like a sponge that wants to absorb all the wisdom I get from the reading material.
I enjoy a good read in bed, and my subconscious mind absorbs all the information, and it comes forth to my conscious mind and I live from being aware of all the positivity that life has to offer.
Photo by Kiran Kaur
Avoid stressing before going to bed
Its easier said than done to avoid stressing before going to bed. I used to end up with panic attacks ahead of a big day, it could be as simple as a presentation, an event or simply meeting a potential client company for the first time.
And easier method I use is ask the below questions:
Will it matter in a week? No
Will it matter in a month? No
Will it matter in 6 months? No
Will it matter in 5 years? No
If your answers to the above questions is a clear “NO”, then do not stress about it.
Photo by Ryan McGuire
Another way that I use is:
Do you have a problem? Yes/No
If “Yes”
Can you do something about it? Yes
Then don’t stress.
If “No”
Then don’t stress about it.
Cobble together these new habits in your day-to-day life and notice the changes that you will begin to see. The biggest one is sleeping well and restfully in the night, waking up refreshed and energised for a new day.
by Kiran Kaur
November 2021
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