NEW THING #24:

EARLY BEDTIME

I don’t know if it’s Canadian Winter, Polar Vortex, or my addiction to Netflix, but I feel super tired recently.
Do you feel it too, or is it just me?

Anyway, it seems like a perfect time to test going to bed EARLY.

I’ve been a night owl for most of my life, and if you’re anything like me, you always feel like you can’t go to bed yet because there’s so much to be done. So you make yourself stay up, keep pushing your bedtime and not getting enough sleep.
Bedtime procrastination is a thing! Am I right?

So going to bed and actually falling asleep early is going to be a hard one for me. But let’s see if it is so worth it as people say it is.

Are you with me?

The challenge:

My early bedtime this week is 9:30.
It’s kind of scary just to write it. But I really need to catch up on sleep.
And apparently, the benefits of going to bed early include: being better rested, more productive & less overwhelmed.

Update after a week

Never thought that I would ever say that, but here’s the thing: I stuck to the early bedtime for the whole week, and I must admit that I really do feel way better!

My mom always says that when you get a sleep debt, you still need to pay it back with huge interests. And that seems to be right. (Why moms always have to be right anyway?)

Downsides

Early bedtime wasn’t easy. 

• Getting myself to bed by 9:30 was hard.
• Putting that damn phone or new book down & sticking to the routine almost broke by heart.
• But skipping Vikings’ season finale because it’s after your bedtime is when the struggle got real. 

Anyway, I did it. I sticked to the early bedtime for the whole week.

Upsides

• And as much as my evenings sucked, my mornings got way better! So I started waking up rested & having more energy during the day.
• Sticking to this challenge for a week helped my to get more sleep and and get used to the early bedtime.
• It helped me to feel more in control and happier with the way I'm spending my free time. Mindless scrolling & late night binge watching got replaced by so much needed sleep time. 

Verdict

I don’t think that I’ll stick to the 9:30 bedtime for good, but I’m definitely going to be more mindful about my evening activities.
Yes, I’m talking binge-watching Netflix or scrolling my social media when my brain is too tired to do anything else after an exhausting day. This might feel relaxing, but it’s not high-quality unwinding.
It seems like turning in early, in this case, works out better for me.

How about you?