If you’re a regular here, you’ll know that at the beginning of the month I challenged myself to be #BetterInBed when it came to my sleeping habits with the help of the Better Sleep Council. We’re officially at our one month mark and I wanted to share an update on what I’ve noticed and the changes I’ve made. From what went well and things that were harder to implement. I’ve definitely learned how to get better sleep through this challenge.
I’m guilty of several really bad sleep habits like having my phone in the room, eating late, and not working out enough. I’ve noticed my sleep wasn’t great lately and constantly found myself rolling over in the middle of the night and checking my phone to see what time it was. Then I’d scroll… WHY!? This challenge from Better Sleep Council couldn’t have come at a better time. After going to The Immersion with lululemon, I’ve really been challenging myself to have better overall wellness awareness. And it really does start with your sleep.
4 Things That Transformed My Sleep Habits
1. Remove The Phone!
First and foremost, the phone was the thing I really wanted to change in my life. Not just in the bedroom, but in my everyday. But back to removing the phone from my bedroom. This is probably the one thing on today’s list that I really truly stuck to. I have not had my phone in my bedroom the entire month. I think I had it in my room one night because I needed the alarm for an early morning flight. Which means, I’m about to buy an old school alarm clock because having my phone in my room is now my least favorite thing ever.
I have found myself no longer spending an hour “winding down” watching TV and scrolling at the same time. Thanks to that, I’m able to fall asleep much more quickly now and rarely even put my TV on. I also no longer wake up in the middle of the night to check the time, and then begin to scroll. Why was I doing this at 3am?! It’s no surprise that my sleep was interrupted so much and was constantly having nights that I stayed up for hours from three until five. But the best part is when you wake up and you still don’t have your phone. This was hands down the best part of not having my phone in my room. So much so, that I’m going to write a whole post on this because I think it’s completely game changing. Not only to my sleep but my relationship with the device and the people around me.
Photos by Hannah Michelle
2. Not Eating Right Before Bed
According to the Better Sleep Council, eating and drinking before bed doesn’t allow your body to fully relax. By cutting yourself off 2 to 3 hours prior to sleeping, your entire body will be ready for full rest. And I have tried to abide by this as much as possible but it requires a bit of planning for your meals. I tend to just eat and graze while I work throughout the day at home which can result in an early dinner, which then means I need a late night snack. Overall, I’ve been trying to avoid anything heavy late in the evening. This challenge made me realize that I need to have a better eating schedule throughout my day which is an ongoing battle.
3. Get Moving More
I still haven’t found my “it” workout. It was CrossFit for many years, and I’m trying to get into yoga. Although I enjoy it, it’s not an exhausting workout that makes me really crash. But I have been more active this month than ever before. Plus, with The Immersion, we were doing at least one to two workouts a day and that week I slept like a baby! So there’s clearly something to it.
4. Stop Worrying
Have I stopped? Nope. But I think removing the phone has actually helped a ton in this department. I didn’t add a notebook to my nightstand, but I’ve noticed I don’t go to bed with my mind running wild with ideas. There’s definitely a correlation with the phone not being in my room. I would sometimes see an email, an Instagram post, something that would spark an idea and would trigger my mind and start thinking or worrying about something. If I do feel like I have to do something, I add it to my list for the next day so it can be off my mind.
So in the end, I’ve learned a few things that I’m working continuously on but am already seeing an improvement for sure. Reducing my phone usage overall in my day (so much work to do there) to getting on a better eating and exercise routine.
This post was written in collaboration with Better Sleep Council. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
