10 tips for getting to bed on time

This is me:

6:24 a.m. – Roll out of bed, nine minutes after hitting the snooze button once.

7:00 – First cup of coffee, throw on some clothes, first bus comes

7:17 – Second bus comes

8:01 – Third bus comes. Now to start my day.

9:00 to 12:30 – Feverishly work while its quiet

12:30 – Feeling sleepy because I stayed up working until 1:30 this morning. I’ll just take a quick cat nap…

2:30 – Get woken up by the first of the troops to come home

3:30 to 8:30 – Homework, make dinner, eat dinner, clean up dinner, read, showers, teeth brushing, flossing, kisses. Goodnight.

8:30 – Check a few more emails, work on tomorrow’s post

10:00 – I’ll just finish this one last thing…besides, I took a nice long nap so Im not tired at all!!!

11:00 – I really should go to bed.

1:30 a.m. – Im going to hate myself in a few short hours…

Am I the only one who does this insanity?? Im no expert but it just seems to me that you are naturally an “early bird” or a “night owl”. Im definitely the later.

There are countless benefits to being “early to bed” (…makes you healthy wealthy, and wise, right?). Not that my job lends itself to this philosophy…I know plenty of other mom bloggers and designers who do their best work at night, when its nice and quiet. But neither does an early morning school bus schedule lend itself to the night owl lifestyle. Overall, at the end of a week when I’ve been “early to bed”, I am just better…I feel better, I have more energy, my attitude is better, Im skinnier and richer.

Ok, that last part’s a lie.

The results are worth the effort. So here are a few tricks I’ve found that help me get my bootie in bed…and to actually fall asleep…that’s the goal, after all. Maybe they’ll help you too.

1. Set the alarm clock for bed time, not wake up time - I learned this from Dr. Oz. Genius! Set the alarm clock 8 hours before you need to wake up and go to bed when it goes off.

2. Stick with a routine - Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning…even on weekends. This one is a hard one for me, but it makes a huge difference in being able to fall asleep at a decent hour.

3. Create a ritual - Just like that sweet baby you train to sleep at night, set up a nightly ritual for yourself. Drink caffeine free hot tea, warm milk, take a bath, read a few chapters in your latest book. These cues help your body get ready for sleep.

4. Get as close to eight hour of sleep as you can - You dont need more than that, but you should ideally get that much. Not always realistic, I know, but seven to eight hours seems to be the magic number, say the experts.

5. Stop eating a few hours before bed time - Not only is this smart for a good night’s sleep, its smart for your waistline.

6. Walk/Exercise - When you’ve done nothing but sit all day, its hard to transition into feeling physically tired enough to go to bed (especially if you have a desk job). I find the days I’ve been out and about, have walked a few miles, or done some sort of exercise that my body is ready to go horizontal.

7. Dont nap! - Oh I love my naps, but they sabotage me at bedtime. Avoid the noon time siesta. Change things up after lunch…take a walk, make your phone calls, run your errands. It does wonders for taking your mind of nappy time.

8. Run through your “to done” list - While you’re trying to wind down and fall asleep, sometimes the worries and “to dos” for tomorrow keep your mind racing. I find it extremely helpful, and sleep inducing, to rerun the day…what I accomplished, the conversations I had, the meals I enjoyed. Before I get to  dinner time I’m usually sawing logs.

9. Time your medications accordingly - Sometimes medications can mess with your circadian rhythm and make it hard to be tired at night. Check with your doctor to see if you can take it at another time of day to get your body clock set correctly. I am hypothyroid and depend on thyroid medication to…well, live basically. I’ve noticed that certain thyroid medications kept me awake at night because of the way they metabolize. So I switched to taking them at night and it seemed to help. Or, it was all in my head but still worked anyway… .

10. Dont give up - Its so tempting to continue a bad sleep habit once it starts. But the quicker you can break the cycle, be tired for a short amount of time, the better you’ll feel in the long run.

Your turn: Are you a night owl or early bird? What are your tricks to going to bed at a decent hour?