Always be hygienic
1. Absolutely no screens after 10pm
I’m afraid this includes phones, tablets, digital watches, ovens and fridges. I mention fridges, because I recently heard about a teenager who managed to send tweets from their fridge after being put on a screen ban. So remember, your fridge will stop that half-eaten avacado going icky, but try swiping right you’ll get a face full of greek youghurt.
2. Use the same bedtime routine every night
Create yourself a wind down routine and stick to it, but you could try this:
i) Turn off all devices at 10pm.
ii) Go to your bedroom and change into your sleeping garb.
iii) Attend to your bathroom essentials.
Do not deviate from this routine, and avoid activities that might be regarded as stimulating ...
… for example: dancing.
3. Settle yourself mentally
Get yourself a small, lined notebook.
Take your notebook and find the next free page. Write down five things that you are anxious about. Then, under each one, write down one reason why you don’t need to be anxious about each one. Once you have finished, snap the book shut and put it away (and it’s important to do that snap with confidence and finesse).
Do not do this in your bedroom.
Also, did I mention that you should not be looking at any screens by now?
4. Settle your body
Find yourself a comfy chair and sit down. Again, don’t do this in bed, or in your bedroom.
Close your eyes, and breathe in on a count of seven, taking the air deep into your belly. Hold your breath for a count of five. Then breathe out through your mouth on a count of seven. Repeat this fifteen times.
This step oxygenates your blood, reducing the level of stress hormones.
This helps you sleep for longer.
5. Do some reading
Read a book that you are intersted in for around thirty minutes (fiction is better).
Do not read in bed or in your bedroom.
6. Sleepy time
Once you have finished reading, go to your bedroom, lie down in bed and try to sleep.
Try to avoid being anxious about when you might go to sleep. Reflect on what you have just read instead.
