On this page, I'll share with you how I manage to maintain a consistent sleep schedule (at least some of the time). I used to really struggle with this, but I worked out a technique in counselling that I found really helpful. I'm sharing it here in the hopes that some of you may find it helpful as well.
- The first step to getting to bed on time is to set a specific time at which to turn off all screens (including phones, computers, and TVs). The light they emit keeps you up longer, and they can also be really distracting, which is not ideal when you're trying to get ready for bed. I find that setting my
turn everything off
time to about an hour and a half before bed works well. It can also help to set turning off your devices as a habit in a habit tracking app (I use Habit Rabbit) and make checking it off the very last thing you do before turning off your phone. - Once you've mastered turning off your devices at a set time, you might find that you look for non-digital things to do instead of sleeping, and end up staying up half the night doing some random organizational task that you've somehow decided needs to be done Right Now. To prevent this, fill an essential oil diffuser with a calming oil (I usually use lavender) and set it to diffuse for 30 minutes once you enter your bedroom for the night. While the oil is diffusing, you can partake in any calming activity you like: colour, pray, read, or do whatever you need to wind down. Once it stops, though, you have to go to bed. I find that the time limit usually motivates me to finish getting ready for bed quickly instead of spending all night finding random things to do.
- Be consistent, and don't lie to yourself. If you keep your laptop on after the usual time
just to finish looking at this one thing,
will you really turn it off as soon as you're done? Try to avoid making exceptions. If there was something you were going to do on your phone, too bad. You can do it tomorrow. - If you do end up missing the set time, don't give up! Turning off your phone half an hour after you were planning to is still better than staying up all night reading fanfiction.
And that's basically it! I hope this is helpful for someone!