Sleep is in the schedule
My post study night-time routine
I’m currently writing while listening to a Barbie playlist because a busy day working on my final project — I need to intentionally unwind. Unwinding, sleep, and “me-time” shouldn’t be optional on a regular day, and especially not. I am saying this as someone who needs to take my own advice, in all honesty. It’s not always easy to factor in this relaxation period or even a good night’s sleep when there is so much to be done, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something to consider. Hopefully, this blog can change your mind.
Yesterday, I had a really long study day, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and got a lot of work done. I had my to-do list and checked off many things. When I had left the uni building, I had one thing left to do — relax. I find that if I don’t schedule in relax time, it really won’t happen. There is a difference between relaxing and sleeping. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I have to tell my body sometimes, Okay, it’s evening — start to relax. Even if I had a full working day and I am tired, my mind can be wide awake and fully active. There is a process — as most things in life.
Relaxing is a luxury for many people. When working, it seems like a rare stolen moment. When studying, it feels like a waste of time. My advice is to remind you that relaxing looks different for everyone. Some days, relaxing looks like reading a book on a train ride home instead of writing notes for an assignment. Other days, it looks like 30 minutes watching an episode from my favourite show. Some rare times I can squeeze in a spa trip, but most times, it’s all about the small but intentional moments. You have to tell your mind.
The more you do this — build this habit — your brain will start to associate certain activities with the end of the day, and you can begin to relax much easier. What usually works for me is reading a couple of pages of a book before bed; my breathing slows and I can dissociate for a couple of minutes. Other times, reading a book feels like too much, so I might just watch a cartoon — I highly recommend Bluey. Having a debriefing session of my day with my sisters is always my favourite part of the end of the day too.
I remember one evening in particular — or should I say early morning — around 4 a.m. when I was handing in an assignment. I pressed submit, with eyes burning from the excessive screen time. My me-time before bed was just a couple of seconds where I closed my eyes, inhaled, exhaled, then went to sleep until the next evening. (I also sent a message on the family group chat to not be disturbed for the next 24 hours).
One step further is to add relax days to your calendar. In an ideal world, we should all have at least a day in the week focused on rebooting and relaxing. But let’s take it one step at a time. You can start by subscribing to this blog via email and enjoy a new blog article every evening!
