Guide · sleep · 3 min read
A wind-down that starts before you are tired — a short read, if you are doing this instead of scrolling
Waiting until you feel sleepy usually means waiting until midnight. The wind-down is what creates the sleepiness.
Start here
This is not complicated. It is inconvenient, which is why most people skip it.
Choosing this over scrolling counts as a good decision, even a small one.
If you only do one thing from this page, do the first point below. It is first because it removes the most friction for the least effort.
What helps
Stop work at a fixed time, not when the work is finished. The work is never finished.
Do the boring parts of tomorrow tonight: clothes, bag, lunch, the first item on the list. Unfinished admin is what keeps people awake.
Start ninety minutes before you want to be asleep. That is longer than most advice suggests, and it is where the difference is.
What to do when it does not work
Have a last-thing ritual that is the same every night. Tea, teeth, ten pages. Rituals work because they are boring and repeated.
If your brain starts up as soon as you lie down, keep a notebook by the bed and write the thoughts down. The paper holds them so you do not have to.
Lower the lights in the room you are in. Bright overhead lighting at 10pm tells your body it is still afternoon.
Questions people ask
Does a hot bath help?
Yes, if it is an hour or so before bed. The drop in body temperature afterwards is what makes people sleepy.
What if I am not tired at bedtime?
Do not lie there. Get up and read something dull under a dim light until you are. Bed should not become the place where you try.
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