Issue 24: How’s your sleep these days?
We’ve all forgotten to move our bodies amid the busyness of a workday. Sleep, though. Sleep is something I’m sure you do. But is it quality sleep?
The reasons for getting decent sleep go miles beyond staying awake during your morning meetings and reducing those Mariana Trench-rivaling under-eye circles. Studies suggest chronic inadequate rest increases our risk of things like coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. Bad sleep skews your hormones, can lead to metabolic syndrome, and mucks up your immune system.
With that chilling (and incomplete) list in mind, let’s talk sleep hygiene! Spoiler: you already know this next bit, but as behaviour change research shows, most people fall into the category of “I know this, but I’m not doing it.”
So, here’s a friendly, gentle reminder to do it. Not a massive overhaul. Not cancelling evening plans, abandoning the snooze button, or banishing caffeine. Just…
Put away your digital devices at least half an hour before bed.
That’s it! And it’s still hard to do. What’re we supposed to do, just lie there staring at the ceiling for those 30 long, trudging minutes?
If that option is a hard pass, here are five swaps for doomscrolling or playing Candy Crush (of whatever mobile game is big right now):
Read a book. I make an exception to the no-digital-devices rule for e-readers, but use a lamp, not the backlight.
Do a crossword puzzle, Sudoku, or other brain game (preferably one that doesn’t spike your anxiety) on actual paper. Did you know the NYT puts out whole collections of puzzles from specific weekdays? I’m currently working through one full of Wednesday puzzles, and it’s…humbling.
Do some yoga that keeps you close to the ground and includes long holds (try this one from the always-charming Adriene).
Take a bath, do a self-massage, or adopt a different spa-like habit that feels special enough to tempt you away from Instagram.
Try a body scanmeditation, like this one that’s just 5 minutes. Once you get the hang of it, you can repeat it multiple times or make it last for as long as you like. Sometimes, I wind up just falling asleep halfway through.
This habit shift is less about blue light and eye strain—though the latter, at least, is definitely a concern—and more about stepping back from the stress of socials and the constant mental engagement that being “online” requires.
Even if we’re just working on the digital Sunday crossword, we’re still seeing texts and emails. If you’re anything like me, after you put the phone down, you’re still half listening for the next ping or watching for the screen to light up. Giving our brains the permission and the space to actually wind down can make a massive difference in our sleep quality, or at least in how quickly we get to dreamland.
So: How’s your sleep hygiene? Do you have a different go-to improvement you’re working on or have successfully adopted? DM your favourite “hack” and I’ll share it with the FTW team!
You’ve got this!