I never really had a #routine for when I got home at night. Normally, my night consisted of:
-Getting home from work and eating.
-Taking a shower.
-Walking Apollo.
-Netflix until 10 or so.
-Attempting to sleep, while scrolling through social media for another hour in bed.
I will be honest too I always struggled with sleep. Whether it is falling asleep, or staying asleep I never could get the "7-8 hours" that seems to always be recommended.
In fact, my sleep used to be so bad that my #fitbit app might as well have read:
YOUR SLEEP SUCKS. To add to this, I am not a caffeine person. Yes, you read that right.
No preworkouts, no coffee in the morning. I really have a few sips of an energy drink each day, but that is it. Now while I am a morning person (5 AM crowd) getting up was no issue at all. It was later that I noticed around 2-3 PM daily my body craved a nap. It seemed to be the time where I could quickly fall asleep.
Then I decided that I should create a routine for night time just like I do for the morning. We all have habits we've created, so my goal was to implement new habits to see what would happen. As you can see from the picture, my sleep averaged 6+ hours each night. The month before I started doing this routine, I was hitting about 4.5..
Things I changed:
-Walking Apollo before 8 PM.
-Turning my phone to the night shift setting at 8 PM- 6 AM.
-ROMWOD at night around 8:30 PM.
-Dimming the lights around me at 7:30 PM.
-Journaling at night (3 things I am grateful for, something positive in the day, & 1 thing I accomplished). <-- This allows me to go to bed in a good mood.
-NO NETFLIX after 8 PM.
-Reading 20 minutes at night.
-Using the ABIDE app for guided sleep mediation (free) and leaving my phone off the bed. Slumber is also great!
-Making the room a little colder.
It took some adjustments, and some days I am a little off track. However, I will say here some of the things that I have noticed since implementing this routine:
-Quality / duration of sleep increased 1.5 hours each night. -My weight DROPPED (hormones balancing out). -My stress DROPPED. -Nap time was no longer needed. -I woke up in a better mood. -Feeling of being more focused during the day. -My workouts / recovery improved at the gym.
These are just a few big ones. If you're struggling with sleep or your current sleep pattern, I definitely suggest that you start creating a better routine for the evening.
Poor sleep over time can do quite a number on your health:
-Immune system weakens.
-Irritable mood swings.
-Less focused.
-Weight increases.
-Stress increases.
-Slower reaction time.
Just a few examples. Remember too, changing habits takes time / patience. Start small, be realistic. At the same time, be honest with yourself and your efforts.
What does your routine look like?
If you don't have one, go start creating one.
-Taryn
Coaching @ transformwithtaryn.com
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