As someone who has always struggled with anxiety, getting into bed used to be something I dreaded. I knew that once I laid down I would either end up staying up far too late watching Netflix or I’d turn the tv off and be stuck thinking about every possible problem/stress until 2 am. There was no winning. Within the past 2 months I’ve changed up my nighttime routine and I’m happy to report it works.
Charging your phone away from the bed
This is probably the most important tip of all! I used to plug my phone in right by my bed, which led to constant Instagram checking and buzzing throughout the night. I would also lay in bed for 30 minutes in the morning catching up on all my social channels. My phone now goes in the bathroom for the night right after I wash my face and in the morning if I want to check it I have to get up and walk there. This has stopped me from wasting 30 minutes in bed every morning and took away some of the anxiety at night, which I seem to always have when my phone is in hand or reach.
Switch the tv for a book (not on your iPad)
I’ve started turning off my tv and picking up my Kindle before bed. From what I’ve noticed, I get sleepier much quicker and find myself passing out with book still in hand most nights. As for the type of book, I find light beach reads are the best for bedtime. If I read a mystery/thriller I tend to get hooked and can’t put it down.
CBD!
I talked about this in my health and fitness post, but I’ve recently become a huge proponent of CBD. I’m not going to go into a full description here, there are tons of articles online for that. If you feel uncomfortable doing the oils I would suggest starting with gummies.
Meditation app
My meditation app of choice now is Insight Timer and I love Kenneth Soares. Kenneth does great deep sleep guided meditations. Turn off the lights, get comfy and press play.
Switch from wine to tea
Another topic I’ve talked about more lately is that I’ve made the switch from a glass or two of wine each night to hot tea. If you’re not a big tea drinker try seltzer in a wine glass or hot water with lemon. I haven’t stopped drinking entirely, just not on the week nights. I noticed that if I drank more than 2 glasses of wine I would wake up in the middle of the night and had trouble falling back asleep.
Kisses and cheers,
