OK so here’s the thing about sleep – we’re all messing it up. Like, badly. I get it… there’s Netflix to watch and socials to scroll and somehow the day just vanishes?! But real talk – being exhausted 24/7 is literally the worst. And yeah, maybe this is gonna sound like your mom telling you what to do, but whatever – let’s fix this mess.
First up – and don’t roll your eyes at me – but having a actual legit bedtime is huge. Not saying you gotta turn into a grandma or anything, but your body legit gets confused when you pass out at 3am one night and 9pm the next. Pick a time that doesn’t totally wreck your social life and try to stick with it most nights.
Your bedroom situation? Probably needs work. Not trying to be mean but like… when was the last time you actually set it up for SLEEPING instead of just existing? Cool temps are key – somewhere around 65 is perfect. Dark is good. Like, really dark. And if your neighbors are being extra (why do they always vacuum at midnight?!), get yourself a white noise machine or blast some rain sounds or whatever.
Ok here comes the part nobody wants to hear but…. phones are literally ruining everything. That blue light stuff? Its basically your brain being like “oh cool its morning lets party” at 11pm which is…. not ideal. Look im not saying throw your phone in a lake or anything but maybe try reading a book or something before bed instead of watching 800 TikToks in a row.
And lets talk about that pre-bed routine cus its probably a mess rn. Coffee after 4pm? Nope. That glass of wine to “help you sleep”? Also nope. Sorry not sorry but they’re both garbage for sleep. Try some sleepy tea instead (sounds lame but trust me). Or just like… sit quietly for 5 mins without doing anything. Wild concept, i know.
Moving around during the day = better sleep at night, that’s a fact. It doesn’t have to be CrossFit or whatever… literally just walk around the block a couple times. Just don’t go crazy with workouts right before bed cus then you’ll be lying there with your heart doing the macarena when you’re trying to sleep.
Naps are… complicated. Yeah sometimes you NEED one but then you can’t sleep later and its this whole thing. If you’re dying and must nap, set an alarm for 20 mins max. Any longer and you’re just sabotaging yourself for later.
Sunlight is lowkey important too?! Like your body needs it to know what time it is. Which sounds fake but is actually true. If you’re stuck inside all day maybe eat lunch by a window, or get one of those happy lights that pretend to be the sun – they look ridiculous but actually work.
Look, nobody’s saying you gotta turn into some perfect sleep robot. But maybe… just maybe… we could all try sucking a little less at this whole sleep thing? Start with one thing – literally just one. Maybe it’s putting your phone in another room at night. Maybe it’s setting an actual bedtime alarm (groundbreaking, i know).
The whole point is – sleep isn’t just some optional extra thing we can ignore forever. Its literally the reset button your brain and body need to not be completely useless the next day. And yeah getting good at sleep takes some time and practice but… being exhausted forever is getting pretty old.
Plus imagine how nice it would be to actually wake up feeling like a functioning human instead of a cranky zombie who needs 7 coffees just to form words. Wild concept right?! It’s actually possible.
Bottom line – sleep is kinda crucial and we’re all pretty terrible at it rn. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. Pick one thing to fix. Just one. See how it goes. Maybe you’ll hate it and give up (don’t). Or maybe you’ll actually start feeling better and want to try something else. Either way, beats being tired forever.
Just try not to overthink it too much (says the person who just wrote a whole thing overthinking sleep). Sometimes good enough is… good enough. Start somewhere. Anywhere. Just maybe not with giving up coffee entirely cus lets be realistic here.
