We continuously hear about how important sleep is to our overall well-being. It’s great to acknowledge its importance but also important to develop a plan of action of practical ways to enhance the experience to avoid defeating yourself. Somethings to consider in developing your Sleep Routine: Time windows and Setting expectations/“stories of three”

Bedtime—- Setting the same window of time daily to be physically in bed (only rare social exceptions to this). This window of time should be only 30 minutes —i.e. 9-9:30pm.
*What three things are you required to do just prior to getting into bed? While keeping in mind that, ideally you haven’t touched a screen for 2 hours prior to bed, however even going with 15-30 minutes would be a huge start. Is this: brushing your teeth, having some sips of water, reading some of a book, journaling (it’s ideal to get out all the stressful thoughts and place them somewhere prior to sleep), etc.

Wake time—- Set an alarm everyday for the same time window. This should also be a 30-minute range as well for the weekdays and try to only shift by increasing to a 60-minute time window on weekends.
*What three things are required prior to you touching a screen? Not including shutting off your alarm. Is this: brushing your teeth, showering, 5 min stretches, 5 min mediation, work-out, gratitude acknowledgments, etc.

When in sleep mode some things to consider: Redirect mind when negative/ intrusive thoughts come in. Acknowledge the thought, validate it (all thoughts are a story—- not all rooted in fact or truth, and all have a beginning and end), if it’s a thought of a task that needs to be addressed/task completed have a paper and pen (not your phone) next to the bed to quickly write it down for you to address at a future date. A lot of our intrusive thoughts will get more powerful due to their fear you won’t remember to do the task/thought. Therefore, the brain kicks it into a survival response (and engages the amygdala), creating a new priority level and you can’t let it go.