Day 10 To Better Sleep: How To Unplug & Prepare For A Restful Night 🛌

Day 10 To Better Sleep: How To Unplug & Prepare For A Restful Night 🛌

You wouldn't race into your garage and come to a screeching halt from 60 miles an hour, you typically shift your gears and slow down as you come into the garage, that's the same thing with sleep too. So do some kind of wind-down routine - Matthew Walker

Sleep is not a light switch. It's a slow transition from alertness to calmness. You can't jump from strong stress from work, school, or family to sleep. Your temperature and alertness need to go down.

Stress increases cortisol, adrenaline, and even dopamine. You can't sleep when they're circulating in your system. Of course, dealing with chronic life stress is important. But in the context of sleep, you just need to de-escalate your system to transition into sleep.

Matthew Walker proposes a wind-down for 10-15 minutes before bed. Don't engage in work, emails, or social media. Matthew said that screens aren't bad because of the light. It's because they offer a wave of stimuli that stress you out. Surprise!

Now, I know you like to be productive. You want to maximize your work output. But see it this way. Those extra 10 minutes of work aren't that helpful. You're only working at 20% of your capacity. Instead, the wind-down decreases your stress and prepares you to get more done the next day.

You could: tidy your room, stretch, meditate, take a hot shower, or read a book you like. Any of these work. If you already do one of these, amazing!

I like to listen to a podcast. It's easy, fun, and doesn't need me to focus. I can play it in the background until I fall asleep.

So, for today, instead of going to bed immediately, do something that calms you down for 10-15 minutes. Ending your day this way makes you feel 10x more relaxed, refreshed, and excited about the next day.

Wind down for 10-15 minutes before going to sleep.

Good luck Reader!

I will share 1 more idea tomorrow. Then we'll reflect on your progress and what you learned so far.

Your progress to better sleep

Day 1: Sleep in line with your 'sleep hunger'✅​
Day 2: Get morning sunlight ✅​
Day 3: Halt caffeine at 3 pm ✅
​Day 4: Stop eating at 8 pm ✅​
Day 5: Change your sleep mindset ✅
Day 6: Decrease lights at night ✅
​Day 7: Watch the sunset ✅
​Day 8: Nap and/or NSDR ✅
​Day 9: Breathe through your nose ✅
​Day 10: Wind down for 10-20 minutes ⏳