Girl, Go To Bed...

It’s 9pm and I’m sitting scrolling through the gram on my phone…

Silly videos of kids falling asleep in their food. Someone doing something very stupid while drunk. Hilarious memes about online dating and attempting to find Mr. Right. Then “those” videos that pop up and I end up in a rabbit hole about things in the world I’m not sure my heart was designed to handle on this scale and frequency.

Now, I’m wondering if I need to build a bunker for WWIII or if I should keep building my business?!?! It’s now 9:30 and I should be asleep. Instead I’m walking upstairs to my room in the dark with nothing but my phone to light my way. I may continue to scroll so I can be a little bit more “informed” before I attempt to lay my head down to sleep with phone on my nightstand. I will brush my teeth, wash my face, crawl into bed and probably continue to scroll until my eyelids are too heavy to hold open.

I wake up the next morning to the data that Opal (my Oura Ring) collected for me during the night and it shows my deep sleep was low as was my REM. It took me a long time to fall asleep and there was a lot of restlessness and movement during the night. I can feel upon waking…I’m dragging, it’s 4:45am and it’s time to do this day.

Ya’ll this is NO way to prepare for sleep. I made a post on Friday (click here) about the secret sauce for overall health and it isn’t diet and exercise. IT’S SLEEP. Sleep is the game changer, the change maker, the key to unlocking health, muscle growth, fat loss, increased energy, increased libido, and OPTIMAL health.

I NEEDED TO SNAP OUT OF MY ROUTINE. It was great timing, I had a meeting with a health coach a couple of days after this realization. We got to talk about this…Yep you heard that right, as a health coach I’ve got coaches and mentors!

We came up with a plan for me to better prepare for bed and find the time to process my day. Let me share with you my new bedtime routine that is changing the game for me and I’m LOVING it. I’m going to give it to you for FREE. Ready?

Start making tea about 45-60 minutes before my bedtime. This helps cue my body, mind and heart that it’s time to start winding down.

Start turning off all the overhead lights, turn on lamps and smaller lights to again getting the body ready for sleep.

When the tea is ready, the phone is done. Text messages have been wrapped up, phone is off. Plug the phone in either downstairs or in the bathroom. Put it in another room. You don’t need your phone for an alarm clock…go buy one. This is one that I love: click here

Take my tea to my bathroom and wash my face, brush my teeth and the pre-bed things.

Jammies on. Well sometimes I put my jammies on first…hee hee

Crawl into bed with my journal to process the day or a book. If you don’t love doing these activities in bed, create a little space that’s dim and cozy.

Spend some time reading and/or journaling. Getting your thoughts out at the end of the day can be a really helpful way to get your mental state to match your physical state. This way your body that is ready to go to sleep has a mind that isn’t racing and your body can settle.

Breathwork is a very helpful tool as you settle into bed for sleep. Tea is done, your mind is quiet and you’re ready to go to sleep. Here are two helpful breath patterns you can use to drift off to sleep. Option 1 is great for everyone but can be helpful for those just starting to work with your breath. Option 2 is a little bit longer retentions and exhales which for some can feel like too much but is a great way to drift off to sleep.

Option 1: Inhale for 2 seconds - Hold for 2 seconds - Exhale for 4 seconds

Option 2: Inhale for 4 seconds - Hold for 7 seconds - Exhale for 8 seconds

Repeat the next night.

Many of you are parents and you know the importance of your children going to bed on time and getting enough sleep. This need does not change as we age. We need sleep at every stage of life!

If you feel like you’re at a loss with your health and you aren’t sure where to start, start here and watch other habits and rhythms fall into place. If you need more help reach out all of our coaches are well equipped to help you create some simple action plans to improve your health. Hello@dropgym.com is a great place to find us.