Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Help!

Help. Seriously, I need help on how to go to bed. I sound like a 5 year old, I know.

I am actually very good at sleeping... If there was an Olympic event in sleeping, I'd take gold for sure. I am totally one of those people that needs all the sleep they can get... or else I'm not very nice. At all. Same with food; if I am starving, I get mean. Hangry is a real thing, people. Maybe I should start calling myself Tangry (tired angry) when I'm lacking sleep... anyways... 

But I always find myself with so much to do after work. From running errands, to eating dinner with my family, to socializing with friends, to blogging and even to getting ready for the following day, I always hit my bed when I am at the point where I can't keep my eyes open any longer... aka 1:30am. It's such an issue when I wake up at 6:45am.

Even when I get ahead of my to-do list, I still find myself not going to bed until midnight... you know, because I end up watching Netflix, texting/chatting with friends or scrolling through all of the social media platforms, etc. It catches up with me by Friday and instead of having fun and enjoying my weekend, all I want to do is sleep. Ohhh life is hard ;).

Ok, so what I want from you, is to tell me how you force yourself to shut down your phone/ipad/tv/close your book/stop saying prayers/etc. and go to bed. Like the people that go to bed at 9pm, HOW DO YOU DO IT?!

I want to be a morning person so badly... I am always waking up at the last possible second and I just want to wake up on weekdays early enough to get ready leisurely... maybe even read a few pages in a book, cook a real breakfast or gasp, workout! 

It is my small goal to go to bed before 11pm for a week straight. This has been my goal for weeks and it hasn't happened. Literally as I look at the clock, it is 11:08pm and I just got off the phone with one of my bff's and am now writing this post. UGH! I know, I'm totally doing it to myself. 

Tell me.. what are your secrets?! Have a fabulous day! 

Yours, 

25 comments:

Unknown said...

Good morning! I myself am a morning person and love it. I'm a kindergarten teacher so I get up at 5 am on weekdays and on weekends I usually can't sleep past 7! When I was around your age, I heard an idea that really worked for me and I think you would like: the bedtime power hour! If 11 pm is your goal bedtime, set an alarm to go off at 10. That way you know you have one hour to finish anything you need to do, get ready for the next day, and get in the mental mindset to go to sleep. Make yourself some tea, wash your face, put your phone away, and crawl into bed with a good book. It's okay if you still need to make a phone call or write a blog post, but you know that your bedtime is approaching! I hope this helps, have a great week!

Unknown said...

Good morning! I myself am a morning person and love it. I'm a kindergarten teacher so I get up at 5 am on weekdays and on weekends I usually can't sleep past 7! When I was around your age, I heard an idea that really worked for me and I think you would like: the bedtime power hour! If 11 pm is your goal bedtime, set an alarm to go off at 10. That way you know you have one hour to finish anything you need to do, get ready for the next day, and get in the mental mindset to go to sleep. Make yourself some tea, wash your face, put your phone away, and crawl into bed with a good book. It's okay if you still need to make a phone call or write a blog post, but you know that your bedtime is approaching! I hope this helps, have a great week!

JR Mazur said...

It's an acquired skill. I reserve my bed strictly for sleeping, so when I'm in there it's cause I mean business-sleeping business. I know that I can be a real crank when I'm tired, so I shut it down early. My laptop never ever comes into my bedroom, so that eliminates a big source of distraction. If you give yourself a little ritual to do in the morning (for me I go watch the sun come up over the ocean), you'll gain appreciation for the quiet moments in the morning when few people are up and about. Good luck!

victoria said...

Hey sCe! I actually did a post on this earlier this week! I hope it helps!
http://victorialnorris.blogspot.com/2014/02/bedtime-routine.html
- Victoria

Victoria Norris said...

Hey sCe! I actually did a post on this earlier this week! I hope it helps!
http://victorialnorris.blogspot.com/2014/02/bedtime-routine.html
- Victoria

Kristin said...

I have the same problem! No matter how hard I try, it's impossible for me to get to bed early. Hopefully you find some tricks that will help!

I love your blog! I'm also a JMU alumni - go Dukes!

Kristin
Thedixiedaisy.blogspot.com

Heather A. said...

Never in my life did I think I would be a morning person but I have finally started looking forward mornings now and get excited when I'm up around 7! One trick for going to bed earlier is making my bed a place where I JUST sleep (or read) but try really hard to NOT bring my laptop or work to my bed because it means I will always end up staying up later! I used to set an alarm like Margaret that reminded myself that I needed to go to bed soon. It's a great way to know that you should start wrapping everything up and get to bed soon!

PinkSenshi said...

I actually posted something similar last month and asked for advice on how to sleep better as well, and so far my new routine is great! I get in bed at 10:30 with a cup of Camomile tea and read until I get tired. I also sleep with a sleep mask, which helps me go to bed faster, since I don't keep opening up my eyes! I hope this helps!

Hunter
Prep on a Budget

Kelly said...

Hi! I am a morning person myself, although admittedly last night I didn't get to bed until 1:00 - whoops. I always try to create a 'ritual' for going to bed. I brush my teeth, wash my face, make some chamomile tea, and read some of my favorite books. It's so hard to not text or go on my lap top some nights, but I know I'll never go to bed it I do! I think the ritual/routine idea is a good way to signal to your body that it's time to get ready for bed. In the mornings, I do a similar thing by making tea or coffee, and doing some yoga when I wake up!

Carolina Belle said...

Working out will totally help. Your body will be tired and will WANT that sleep. Also, getting in to a routine every night will train your body.

Dress in Sparkles said...

I have such a hard time too! I started taking melatonin about a half hour to an hour before i want to be falling asleep. It's a natural neurotransmitter that's normally in your system, and it just helps to make me feel sleepier, which makes it easier to go to bed! I also find a cup of sleepytime time helps as well. Just relaxes me!

Seersucker Sass said...

One thing that really helped with my sleep schedule was cutting caffeine out of my diet. It is so rough at first, but once it is out of your system, you start to get sleepy at a decent hour and feel energetic when you wake up in the morning!

Another thing that I force myself to do when I get serious about going to sleep is laying my phone on my night stand and ignoring it until the morning.

Good luck!

XX, SS || A Little Seersucker Sass

Unknown said...

I have the same problem. There is NOT enough time in the day. I work until 5 pm, but sometime I do not get home until 7 pm or 8 pm because I am running around doing errands or going to the gym. I then spend my evening blogging, spending time with my family, eating dinner,and attempting to read a book. I seriously do not know where the time goes, all I know is that I start to panic around 1 am when I have to get up at 6:15 am. The struggle is REAL. My morning is a whole different story. I sometimes show up at Starbucks with damp hair because I had to make a sacrifice so I would be on time.

Have a great day!
Amy xchampagnepearls.blogspot.com/

Midwest Prep said...

I completely agree with this and it's been my struggle in post-grad life! I'm currently in transition - what I've found is that I leave things for the morning, hopefully, making myself a morning person. I also try to wake up 15 minutes earlier every 3 days. I used to get up at 7:00 AM and now I'm at 6:30 AM. Good luck!

Catherine said...

As a student this hits close to home. I set an alarm for midnight (my "bedtime") when I drop everything, turn off my electronics, and get into bed with a book. If i can't sleep I read, but usually I doze off faster than with my cell phone on tumblr haha.

Lauren said...

I can so relate to staying up till midnight during the week because of social media, etc and being tired by the time Friday rolls around. At night I usually drink some water and read some of a book before I go to be to wind me down.

Lauren,
http://www.atouchofsoutherngrace.com/

Colleen said...

Such a good post. I literally remind myself of how grumpy I will be in the morning and convince myself if I don't go to bed by 10:30 and get at least 7-8 hours of sleep, it will be impossible for me to get up, my hair will look awful and I will have bags under my eyes. SO I literally use beauty rest as my excuse to get some shut eye! I also turn my phone on night mode so it won't ring or go off from a call or text! :) OH and a glass or two of wine doesn't hurt either to help relax after a long stressful day! xo

Anonymous said...

Hi! I have recently discovered that podcasts are a great way for me to lay in bed in the dark and still have something to entertain me. My guilty pleasure podcast, Loveline, helps me get excited to get into bed and turn the lights off, maybe light a candle, and relax. You can also put a sleep timer on podcasts so you don't have to worry about falling asleep with sounds playing all night. There are a bunch of meditation and sleep podcasts I have tried that are great too!

Anonymous said...

Every thing you described is completely me! I am so glad you are getting feedback on this because I need it myself. Sorry I cannot be of help to you because well I am exactly the same. And I wonder why I can't function well by Friday when my "early" bedtime is considered midnight. Ugh, feel your pain.

Anonymous said...

Every thing you described is completely me! I am so glad you are getting feedback on this because I need it myself. Sorry I cannot be of help to you because well I am exactly the same. And I wonder why I can't function well by Friday when my "early" bedtime is considered midnight. Ugh, feel your pain.

McKenzie Wild said...

I can totally relate. I am NOT a morning person, but I could stay up all night long. (Doesn't go so well in the morning, of course)

I find mandating a bed time and making down-time start a half hour before that works.

I make some sleepy time tea and finish reading or blogging or texting during that half hour. And then put everything across the room on my desk.

Sometimes it even takes saying to my friends heading to bed talk to you tomorrow!

Unknown said...

Camomile tea an hour before you want to fall asleep!

Unknown said...

If (but hopefully when!) you figure out the answer to this, I hope you do a folllow-up post because it truly IS one of my biggest struggles. I find that my biggest time suck is my phone - if I grab it even to set my alarm, I get all caught up in my apps and waste precious time I'm supposed to be spending relaxing before bed.

I will say that when I do succeed in hitting the pillow earlier, it's because I pull the trigger on physically going upstairs earlier. Something about being in bed at an earlier hour (ie before midnight...) makes the process easier. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

wine

Kate said...

I don't go to bed quite as late but it's really hard to get into bed at a decent hour when you work full time, have a social life, work out, etc. I always turn off my laptop and the tv 30-60 minutes before my goal bedtime (usually turn them off at 10/1030).

I have my iphone set to automatically go on Do Not Disturb at 1030 every night. That way I won't hear any text messages! I added my family and employers to my favorite list so if there's an emergency their calls will come through.

I keep my phone charging at the other end of my room so I won't be tempted to use it in bed. When I was in college I kept my laptop on my desk but now that I have an apartment it stays in my living room and out of my bedroom.

Good luck!

 

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