You probably don’t get enough sleep. I know how it goes. You stay up way too late and wake up tired. Here’s how to go to bed earlier so you get the sleep your body needs!
I used to stay up way too late and it was causing a problem. As a stay at home mom, I was having a hard time getting ready every morning because I’d wait until my son woke up to get myself out of bed.
In order to get up before my son, I knew I needed to go to bed earlier.
The problem was I’m a night owl, and I hate mornings. So I read all kinds of advice about going to bed earlier and falling asleep faster. I tried a lot of the tips and these are the things that work for me.
How to Go To Bed Earlier
1. Commit to a bedtime.
It’s so tempting to stay up late and binge Netflix or finish a good book, especially once the kids are in bed. However if you want the benefits of going to bed early, you have to commit to doing it.
Pick a bedtime that you will stick to. Otherwise, you’ll change it up and keep pushing back the time each night. You’ll also sleep better when your body has a consistent pattern to fall asleep.
Challenge yourself to stick to a bedtime for an entire month. Once you get through an entire month of going to bed earlier, it will become a habit.
You may even want to reward yourself when you follow through with a bedtime for an entire month.
If you’re not sure what time to pick, count back from the time you wake up. You should be getting at least 7 hours of sleep.
Let’s say your wake up time is 6:00. You would need to be asleep by 11:00 in order to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep. But your bedtime could be 10:45 to give you time to fall asleep.
By the way, if your kids aren’t following a bedtime routine, it’s time to start them on one too!
2. Follow an evening routine.
I love following an evening cleaning routine which helps me get things done earlier so that I can get to bed on time!
An evening routine signals to your body that it’s time to get sleepy.
It also helps you transition from day to night smoothly. Instead of jumping right into bed with all the weight of the day still on your mind. An evening routine helps you wind down your mind and body and prepares you for sleep.
Here’s a simple evening routine I follow:
- clean up after dinner
- get the kids baths and down for bed
- free time
- make a quick to-do list for tomorrow
- wash my face, brush and floss my teeth
- read a little (no electronics)
- lights out
3. Remember “why” you’re going to bed earlier.
Whenever something is difficult for you to do, it’s important to remember why you are doing it.
You may even want to think through specific reasons that you personally want to got to bed early and write those reasons down.
That way you can refer to them when you are tempted to stay up late.
Going to bed earlier takes commitment and self discipline. If you understand the benefits, it will be much easier for you to accomplish your goal!
4. Stay off electronics right before bed.
I have found that I don’t sleep well if I am on the computer, watching TV, or scrolling my phone right before bed. That way I can start winding my brain and eyes down.
After I complete my nightly hygiene routine of washing my face and brushing and flossing my teeth, I try to read a book or just look over my plan for the next day before bed.
Whenever I do this instead of looking at my phone, I fall asleep so much faster! It is a habit that took some time and self discipline to develop. However, it’s worth being able to fall asleep faster.
5. Turn your brain off in order to fall asleep.
If I’m not intentional about my thoughts at bedtime, my brain starts to go all over the place. I replay conversations I had that day, think about texts I need to send out, plan out blog posts.
My mind starts running a million miles an hour and then I toss and turn for hours!
My husband, however, can fall asleep in a matter of minutes once his head hits the pillow. So several years ago I asked him what his secret to falling asleep is. He said, ” Just turn your brain off. Stop thinking.”
He makes it sound so easy, right?! But really, it’s true. If you are able to turn your thoughts off, your brain can go to sleep much easier.
So as you lie in your bed at night trying to fall asleep, take note of the thoughts you are allowing in your head. Turn them off as best as you can. This is why people count sheep.
I also like to pray, especially on the nights when I catch myself worrying about someone or something.
Benefits of Going to Bed Earlier
Now that you know how to go to bed earlier, let’s talk about how much it will benefit you!
You’ll wake up rested.
On the nights that you go to bed earlier and get more sleep, you will probably wake up earlier naturally. Your body will know that it has gotten enough sleep and be ready to wake up.
There is a significantly different feeling when you wake up still tired vs. rested.
You’ll get more done.
Since making the habit of going to bed earlier, I’ve also been able to get up earlier in the morning. I actually wake up before my kids!
This allows me to have quiet time with the Lord first thing. I even get to drink an entire hot cup of coffee!
Then I get a shower and get dressed all before my kids are awake. This helps me show up for my day first thing. In turn, that allows me to show up for my kids and others. It’s a domino effect that helps me get more done.
But if I had stayed up late the night before and woken up tired, I would stay in my pj’s half the morning and not feel motivated to accomplish much of anything until noon.
I hope this list has helped you find ways to go to bed earlier and get more sleep.
Sleep is an essential need that you have. If you neglect this self care habit, it will impact other areas of your life negatively. Maybe you have even seen that.
I encourage you to make the needed changes today, and get in bed. 🙂
