sleep

How did you go to sleep last night, and how will you go to sleep tonight?

I don’t mean to ask ‘how you slept‘, as you might be asked in the morning; I mean you to think about how you set about going to sleep.

What did you take to bed with you? A book? A phone? A tablet? A mind full of worries and a body full of tension?

What will you take to bed tonight? A mental checklist of things you didn’t do and things you must do tomorrow?

Is sleep just another thing you have to get done? Do you put it off until the last minute?

I’m asking a lot of questions because I expect you know exactly how you might improve your bedtime routine and sleeping environment. So do it, do it now and tonight, and the next night. Change your bedding; tidy the room; remove all the clutter that has nothing to do with your personal space. Create a sanctum.

Read a chapter of a novel; I’m told that when we read fiction, it frees us from our inner monologue, as we mentally adopt and follow someone else’s voice.

If you wake in the night, or have trouble falling asleep, leave your bed, do someting boring and quiet (not TV, not computers) for only a few minutes then return to bed as if for the first time.

As you may feel the need to be busy, so you need to be quiet; treasure your sleep, and do not envy those who sleep in different patterns to you (or the night owls in the bars and clubs) – you can do all that whenever it’s your pleasure. But generally, treasure your sleep and protect your time.

Image credit: Daniel Foster