Last night I took a few steps to improve my sleep quality. I’ve never been one of those people who had a lot of trouble sleeping, but lately I’ve felt I could maybe do a better job of getting quality sleep.
I already have heavy blankets hanging on my windows to keep out the light (my neighbors LOVE me). With the blankets I sleep in almost complete darkness even once the sun comes up. I’ve still hung on to a few things that aren’t optimal though:
- I like to fall asleep with the TV on. I KNOW this isn’t good for me, but I’ve been doing it forever. I set the timer to shut the TV off in 60 minutes and fall asleep with it on. I usually find that comforting for some reason.
- I have TWO digital clocks in my room FACING me. Actually, it’s one digital clock and one clock on the Cable box. There have been times I thought these might be bothering me, but I’ve refrained from making changes until now.
- There is a TINY green light on the smoke detector on my ceiling. Not a big deal, but it’s there.
So, yesterday here’s what I did:
- I didn’t go to sleep with the TV on. In fact, I took my friend Robb Wolf’s advice and got a good Sci Fi novel to read. I’m reading Dead Beat by Jim Butcher, BTW… I only got a few pages read and I started to get tired.
- I got rid of BOTH of the digital clocks. I’m lucky enough to not have to get up and be anywhere in the morning, so I really don’t even need a clock in the room. I also find that’s helpful if I wake up during the night because I just go back to sleep without thinking about the time. I think my body is going to learn to wake on it’s own a lot better if my brain doesn’t know what time it is. I also got rid of the Cable box. Don’t really need it if I’m not watching TV up there anymore…
- Last but not least, I covered up the little light on the smoke detector with a piece of duct tape. Problem solved.
Last night was the first night I slept with the new environment. I definitely felt like I slept heavier and better. I had a high fat Paleo meal around 8pm and went to bed before 10pm. I only woke up once for the bathroom and when right back to sleep after that. I woke up at 7:30am feeling pretty good. I also woke up with a raging… well… It’s a guy thing… I did feel I could have gone back again and slept more, but the sun was up pretty bright so I decided to get up and have some Paleo coffee 😛
I’d say the first night of this sleep improvement thing worked out pretty well. I’m looking forward to seeing what a few weeks of it will bring.
ttys
Adam
Hey Adam!
I enjoyed reading your blogs. What I learned for a better sleep is:
– No electronics in the bedroom
– The bed is to be used ONLY for sleep, sex and recovery (when your sick)
I will admit that I read in bed too but only a few pages before I go to sleep.
Michelle 🙂