Guide · sleep · 3 min read
A wind-down that starts before you are tired — what to expect, when you are waiting for something
Waiting until you feel sleepy usually means waiting until midnight. The wind-down is what creates the sleepiness.
Start here
None of this is glamorous. All of it is doable, which matters more.
Waiting is dead time you can spend on this instead.
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
Lower the lights in the room you are in. Bright overhead lighting at 10pm tells your body it is still afternoon.
Have a last-thing ritual that is the same every night. Tea, teeth, ten pages. Rituals work because they are boring and repeated.
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
Do the boring parts of tomorrow tonight: clothes, bag, lunch, the first item on the list. Unfinished admin is what keeps people awake.
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.
Stop work at a fixed time, not when the work is finished. The work is never finished.
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.
Written for people who want the practical version. No accounts, no tracking, no newsletter wall.
If this is not the angle you need, try Tired eyes after a long day of screens — a plain-language guide, if you are doing this in the middle of the day, Preparing for a conversation you are dreading, without the usual advice, if you are new to this or Working in a noisy place without losing your mind — a practical guide, after a difficult conversation.