Guide · sleep · 3 min read
A wind-down that starts before you are tired, step by step, when you feel restless rather than tired
Waiting until you feel sleepy usually means waiting until midnight. The wind-down is what creates the sleepiness.
Start here
A short explanation first, because knowing why makes the doing easier.
Restless is different from tired, and it needs a different approach.
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.
Have a last-thing ritual that is the same every night. Tea, teeth, ten pages. Rituals work because they are boring and repeated.
Do the boring parts of tomorrow tonight: clothes, bag, lunch, the first item on the list. Unfinished admin is what keeps people awake.
What to do when it does not work
Start ninety minutes before you want to be asleep. That is longer than most advice suggests, and it is where the difference is.
Lower the lights in the room you are in. Bright overhead lighting at 10pm tells your body it is still afternoon.
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.
Questions people ask
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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