28. A few ways to wake up not wanting to hit snooze 100x
I am a morning person and also a night owl. That said, I feel like I am always wired (hello cortisol) and struggle to wind down at night. I think that a night time wind down is truly one of my biggest challenges. However, when I do take 30 minutes to an hour of my time to mindfully wind down for sleep I truly feel the difference the next day in my mood, energy levels, and brain power.
As a major beginner, here are 3 things I am trying to be better about to wake up feeling more refreshed:
No phone 30 minutes before sleeping - this one is so much wasier when you do not plug your phone in on your bedside table. Although it seems annoying, plugging your phone in on the other side of the bed, in another room, or somewhere else in the room not only stops you from taking “1 last look" that spirals into an hour of scrolling but it also makes you get out of bed in the morning and not scroll then as well.
Wind down items: as someoone whose mindset is constantly go go go and it is hard for me to let myself chill tf out, I have found that having items to associate with a state of rest are.
This neck pillow has been an absolute game changer - heat it up for 2-3 minutes and put it on your neck and immediatley feel relaxation.
I also love to have a night time sip - I love the Moon Juice Magnesium tonic but have also been dying to try Gracie Norton’s Nite Nectar. If you want to go for a more DIY apprach, tart cherry juice is amazing as it is a natural source of melatonin.
A scent: The principle of classical conditioning, famously illustrated by Pavlov’s experiments with dogs can be utilized to create relaxation. In his research, Pavlov conditioned dogs to associate a neutral stimulus, like a bell, with the arrival of food, eventually causing the dogs to salivate at the sound of the bell alone. Similarly, by consistently pairing specific scents with certain activities—such as a specific candle or essential oil at bedtime—you can train your brain to associate those scents with desired outcomes like relaxation. Over time, simply experiencing the scent can trigger the corresponding mental or physical state. So, chose a candle, spray, or essential oil and use it each night when you decide to wind down!
Set an alarm: If you struggle with stopping work, if you feel like the only time you stop working or being productive is when you have plans, this is where you need to start. Until this year, I thought that I could only stop working or being productive when everything was checked off of my to-do list or I had plans in my calendar. I would only take breaks from work when other people were involved, I would be on top of things and killing it until I hit a breaking point and had a full menty-b. However, my mom told me something that has really stuck with me: “If you get through the day and fell like you got 60% of the things you needed to do done, then that is a very succesful day!” I have started implementing this through one simple step: setting an alarm. If you think about it, we set an alarm to get up in the morning and tell ur body it is time to shift states so why don’t we have the same for night time?! I have an alarm set on my phone every weeknight at 9:30pm titled “shut your laptop Mary!”. Although I do not oblige every night, and hit snooze, it is a great physical reminder reminder to call it where I am at and allow myself time for myself each day.