A lack of sleep can make you feel worn out, irritable, frustrated and drained. When you are busy, have lots on your mind and know you have lots to do, switching your mind off and going to sleep can be challenging. You win the day by winning the night before. What do I mean by this? You need to have a good sleep routine in place to ensure you sleep well, and wake up ready to start the day intentionally and with impact.
‘Winning the night before’ involves thinking about your evening routine, prioritising the key things that need to be done, and identifying the things that can be switched to another day, delegated, or dropped. In this way, you prioritise the essential tasks —for example, having dinner, getting the children to sleep, doing your exercise or house chores, preparing anything you need for the next day and, hopefully, enjoying some downtime, where you can relax and unwind.
Remember to focus on the quality of time you spend in downtime rather than the quantity. For example, you may only have 15 or 20 minutes to unwind, so you may decide to read a book, listen to your favourite podcast or watch a part of an episode of your favourite show. Having this discipline to focus on quality versus quantity means you can help your brain and body feel the benefits of the downtime without feeling disheartened that it wasn’t enough time.
A good sleep routine means you get to bed at a particular time each night, and allow yourself seven to eight hours of sleep, where possible. Everyone is different and likely to have individualised requirements and circumstances. You may need slightly more hours of sleep or fewer. Regardless of the time you wake up, it’s crucial to establish a routine to go to bed at a specific time. For example, whenever possible, I try to be in bed by 9.30 pm to wake up by 5.15 am. This routine did not come naturally to me, but I developed it over time and worked on implementing it consistently so I could optimise myself. Your timings may be different and this is fine too. The key is to put in place times that work for you to help you optimise.
During my counselling days, I found many of my clients suffered from poor-quality sleep due to overthinking, overwhelm and busy lifestyles. I used my knowledge of psychological research and expertise to develop a relaxation technique to help improve their quality of sleep. I called this relaxation technique the Three Anchors, and it helped hundreds of my clients get to sleep quicker and enjoy quality sleep throughout the night.
This technique helps calm your mind and body and brings your brain wave activity to the alpha state. It involves three key steps: breathing, relaxing your limbs, and activating your senses. When your brain wave activity is in the alpha state you are calm, relaxed and balanced. Here are three super practical steps to help you experience better quality sleep, incorporating the Three Anchors relaxation technique:
1. Set a consistent bedtime and stick to it
As much as possible, ensure you are always in bed at the time you set. This may mean adjusting your routine or reassessing all the things you need to do before the end of the day. You may like to watch TV or scroll social media to unwind. While this is fine, try to ensure you have the discipline to stick with your sleep time. Of course, always sticking to your established bedtime can be tricky, especially if you have young children or other caring responsibilities or fancy a late night out. However, sticking to it wherever possible will help you ensure you get good-quality sleep. You may wish to stick to a consistent bedtime during the weekdays and be more flexible with your sleep times during the weekends.
2. Put your phone away
Leave your phone in a different room at night so you are less likely to be distracted by aimless scrolling just before sleep or when you wake first thing in the morning. Your brain is the most vulnerable to being shaped and influenced when you first wake up, and by not having your phone easily accessible, you can prevent yourself from being influenced by whatever comes up on your scroll or feed. If, like myself, you are used to using your phone as your alarm clock, buy yourself an old-school digital alarm clock so you can leave your phone out of reach.
3. Apply the Three Anchors relaxation technique
Use this eight-minute relaxation exercise when you get into bed before you fall asleep. This technique helps you calm your mind, relax your body and prime your brain to focus on joy and smiles. In turn, this helps you sleep peacefully and get the rest you deserve to conquer the next day in the best way possible.
Edited extract from Productivity Joy (Wiley $32.95) from psychologist Simi Rayat. Visit https://simirayat.com/
