Guide · sleep · 3 min read
A wind-down that starts before you are tired — the long answer, briefly, if you are fitting this around other people
Waiting until you feel sleepy usually means waiting until midnight. The wind-down is what creates the sleepiness.
Start here
Six things, in the order that makes the most difference. The first two do most of the work.
It is designed to fit around other people’s schedules.
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
Start ninety minutes before you want to be asleep. That is longer than most advice suggests, and it is where the difference is.
Stop work at a fixed time, not when the work is finished. The work is never finished.
Lower the lights in the room you are in. Bright overhead lighting at 10pm tells your body it is still afternoon.
What to do when it does not work
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.
Do the boring parts of tomorrow tonight: clothes, bag, lunch, the first item on the list. Unfinished admin is what keeps people awake.
Have a last-thing ritual that is the same every night. Tea, teeth, ten pages. Rituals work because they are boring and repeated.
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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