getting the right amount of sleep every night is key to getting your physical health in check and keeping your own mental and emotional state balanced! i used to struggle with severe insomnia a few years ago, so i’m going to share some tips that helped me get a good night’s rest!
let’s begin !!
ᝰ.ᐟ create a solid nightly routine
for me, my nightly routine starts between 5-6pm! so you can begin to create your nightly routine by finding that start time for yourself!
your nightly routine can include a multitude of things! whether it’s having dinner, showering, doing your nightly skincare, doing some end-of-the-day journaling; your nightly routine can be anything that helps you unwind from the day.
my nightly routine:
5-6pm: get home from work, change out of work uniform, & have dinner — within this time i’ll also spend time with my family/loved ones! i try to stay off of my phone, but there are nights where i’m having dinner and i’ll be scrolling through social media or watching a youtube video!
6-7pm: shower, dental hygiene, nighttime skincare — this is my time to pamper myself, to cleanse myself from the stresses from my day (& ofc literally cleanse myself). i’ll have a podcast playing in the background or i’ll put on a playlist of songs that make me feel good!
7-9pm: prime time “me-time” — at this point in my night, after i’ve showered and stuff, i use this time to either continue listening to podcasts or i’ll have another one of my fav youtubers playing in the background! i also incorporate time to journal and follow up with doing something that makes me happy whether that be playing a video game, entertaining myself with youtube, or coming on here & writing a new blog post!
9-10pm: bed time — i always make sure i’m physically in bed between these times just so i can allow my body to begin to fully relax. i get really cozy in bed, getting all tucked in under my covers, and i’ll make sure my lights are either dimmed or off! my goal every night is to be asleep by 10-10:30pm!
of course, your routine will look different than mine, but feel free to take some inspiration from this! figure out what works best for you and your schedule! once you have that routine set in stone, it’ll be easier to train your mind and body to get to bed at a better time and get yourself used to sleeping at a more reasonable time!
ᝰ.ᐟ no phone usage an hour before bed time
when you’re already in bed, getting ready to fall asleep, try to stay off your phone! the more time you spend mindlessly scrolling through your phone, the more that time starts to slip away from you and soon enough you’ll be up past midnight. staying away from your phone before going to sleep will allow your mind and body to start signaling that feeling of “it’s time to go to sleep”.
being on your phone right before you fall asleep just keeps your mind going and will cause you stay awake for much longer than you need to be! let your mind rest!
luckily, with iphones, you can create different focus modes other than just having your ‘do not disturb’ on! i created a focus mode titled ‘bed time’ that is scheduled to start at 9pm & end at 7am (which is usually when i wake up). i have the mode made so that my homescreen pages don’t include the page where all my social media is at so that i’m not tempted to scroll through any of my socials! i also made sure that my ‘bed time’ mode does not allow any notifications from anyone or anything to prevent myself from getting distracted at night when i’m trying to go to sleep!
ᝰ.ᐟ create the perfect sleeping environment
going to sleep can be hard if it’s too silent/noisy, too dark/bright, too cold/hot; so it’s important to make your sleeping environment the most ideal to you! turn on a fan for white noise or if you need it to be a bit cooler in your room, set a timer on your tv and have it lowered to the lowest volume, turn off all the lights— just do whatever you feel is best for making sure you sleep comfortably throughout the night!
for me, i have my tv on & i’ll set the timer on it because i still need some light source (because honestly i’m afraid of the dark lol) and i need some sound while i sleep! i make sure my tv’s brightness is dimmed because too much light is too distracting for me. i also prefer my room to be colder at night so i can cozy up more into my blankets! doing all of that to create the perfect sleeping environment has helped me get much better sleep at night!
𝜗𝜚 final notes 𝜗𝜚
creating a good sleep schedule and maintaining it can be a battle, but getting good sleep will help you in so many ways! getting enough sleep is one of the best forms of self care, and if practicing better self care is one of your goals for this new year, then please start by working on your sleep schedule and getting better sleep!
I thought I needed more prompts for my pre-sleep mental fics > so I looked up lists of angst/fluff hurt/comfort plots, from the most overused to the weirdest ones, because maybe I’d forgotten one along the way > and hey, how is it even possible that there are this many > somehow, one way or another, there’s nothing new for me 🤡 > it’s insane how the soulmate AU is still the one that intrigues me the most (together with the absolute classic “we have to stop for the night, but oh no, there’s only one bed!”) > anyway, I do have some interesting prompts now spinning in my head > I’ll fall asleep after the first five minutes anyway > tomorrow morning, annoyed, I’ll turn off the alarm and instead of waking up I’ll just continue from where I left off, which is the beginning > nothing, five minutes pass and I fall asleep again > I wake up in a panic and spring out of bed like a coiled spring and I’m late for work = how do you break this cursed loop?
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Guys ya need to invest in a futon. Like a real futon. That fucking amazing little floor bed you can fold up and toss in a closet.
Heres why
Affordable
Easy to maintain
Make sleepovers super easy as a grown up who the fuck has the money and space for a guest bedroom?
Make movie nights extra awesome because you can put it on the floor and have a double decker couch set up with the homies/fam
If you have little kids and they are sick it makes it easy for you to sleep in their room with them but not with them ya know
they are great for pillow forts
Great for road trips and camping
Honestly its nice to switch to a floor mattress once in a while, it resets your back so good
If you have a partner to share the bed with and you want to have the whole bed to yourself boom just toss the futon down and take up the whole thing
In the summer it is nice and cold the lower you are to the ground.
I will note I have used my futon with different flooring situations. So heres how i rate the experience.
Futon on eva foam tiles on wood: 9/10 a little soft for what I like when switching it up but probably great for most ppl.
Futon on rug on wood: 10/10 my fave. The right amount of cushiness to the pass out but also the right firmness to realign my skeletal form.
Futon on wood-vinyl on concrete :5/10 its fine, a little firm and cold
Futon on brick floor: surprisingly 7/10 i have no understanding as to how or why but it is.
Futon on grass (tent):10/10 fucking amazing. Honestly get yourself a tarp and a futon, throw the futon on the tarp to keep it clean and go star gazing its incredible.
Futon in back of truck/suv/van: 9/10 road trip godsend. You can roll it up to have space in the day and at night skip the motels and save money. Easier than setting up a tent too. Ive done this for conventions before and it made the experience so easy and cheap.
Two cups of sleepy time tea. Light a candle and spray the pillows. Then skin and face routine after a hot shower. All before climbing into bed and listening to nature sounds the rest of the night. It's 9:30pm on a Saturday. I love my 30s.
