So far in this series we have covered Habits and Morning Routines. Today we are going to address Night Time Habits … why? Well, our nighttime habits set us up for success or failure the next day, and that day after, and the day after that.
If we are tired, we generally lack enthusiasm, our brains do not function at optimal level, we could even have cravings for foodstuff to give us a quick lift and those same quick lifts generally result in rapid drops too. You know what I am talking about, those sugary treats or high carb meals.
Our nighttime habits definitely can and do impact our behaviour the next day, and possibly even the day after that. It can even become self-defeating, because we are tired, we don’t perform at our best. As a result of that, our output may not be as high as usual, then we work later to make up for a lowered output … and so another late night begins.
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Table of Contents
How To BackTrack & Finish 2020 Strong! Series
As you will have noticed above, I am writing a series of posts to help us all create the momentum we need to Finish 2020 Strong. Here are links to the two posts which precede this one:
How To Finish 2020 Strong! [Habits & Goals]
How to BackTrack & Finish 2020 Strong ! [Daily Morning Routine Checklist].
I encourage you to sign up with me to ensure you receive the posts and benefit from the series, it will be my pleasure to walk this journey alongside you. You can sign up by clicking on the image below:
7 Simple Night Time Habits To Set You Up For Success
There are so many lovely habits you can create to help set the mood for a good night rest, but not only that, also for a successful day when you wake up.
Here are 7 simple nighttime habits – these are ideas really, I would love to hear how they work for you and if there are any other ideas you believe should be included. You can let me know by dropping a message to me in the comments section at the end of this post.
1. Before Heading To Bed Do A Quick Clean Up
This is a quick clean, nothing more than 5 to 10 minutes (absolute max), you do not want to get yourself going and be unable to fall asleep (I need a quiet settle down before I can sleep).
Clear any clutter or trash from the floor, your dresser, kitchen counter tops etc. Facing a mess, especially when waking up, can cause you to stress before the day even begins.
Ensure that everything you need first thing in the morning is easily accessible without cluttering up any surfaces or floor space.
- Lay our your exercise clothes
- choose and put your work clothes for the next day in an easy to access spot
- (I select more than one option so I can choose in the morning and position the choices within my cupboard, on the first couple of hangers when I open the door)
- place your journal, devotional, pen etc in an easy-to-access spot
- make sure your morning quiet time area is clean, tidy and accessible
2. Do A Little Self Care
I prefer to bathe or shower at night before I go to bed. Something about water helps me to settle down and relax. If I am taking a bath, I may even read a little in the bath – a gentle and inspirational read, nothing too.
A lovely exfoliation in the bath or shower can really wash away the day – especially in these times of Covid, it’s great to know that we’ve washed away any potential nasties.
After bathing, I put cream all over my body and face, feeling lovely, clean and moisturized is my best route to a good night’s sleep.
3. S-T-R-E-T-C-H
Whilst your body is lovely and relaxed from your bath (or shower) you can do some gentle stretches before heading into bed.
I like to do simple stretches just to ease any tension our of my muscles so I am not rudely awakened by cramp in the night – this has happened to me during times of training hard.
4. Spend Time Focusing on What Tomorrow Will Hold (Popularly Known as “Setting Intentions”)
If you are anything like me, it is possible that your mind ramps up before going to bed, this can be amazing because I get some of my best ideas right then. The challenge is not being swept up into taking action and making it a late night.
I do a review of what was accomplished through that day and then write a list of what I would like to cover the next day. This helps me to get to the important tasks easily the next day. Yeah, procrastination is real, lol!
You could do this in an app, within your calendar, or a notebook that is handy to refer to the following day.
5. Gratitude Journal
Writing down a few things you are grateful for really helps focus your mind on happiness before sleeping and will keep your focus on all that is good whist you sleep. Just two or three a night is plenty. There are loads of reasons to focus on gratitude, this has been scientifically proven – gratitude has an effect on your physiology, you produce the happy hormones when you are grateful.
6. Reading
Reading from a book before sleeping – I find that a paper book also helps me to relax more than reading off a screen. I believe that kindles are good too because of the back lighting too.
The material I choose to read before sleeping is not challenging or disturbing, for example my current read is Without Rival by Lisa Bevere).
It’s a beautiful book, written with such care and love. If you are looking for a book where you can learn about your Creator’s love for you, I recommend this one highly. In fact, anything by Lisa Bevere, she is an awesome writer.
There are loads of great books you could read which will give you mind positive information to focus on prior to falling asleep. I highly recommend The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson – this is an exceptional read, very encouraging and, in case you are not a Christ follower as I am, this book is not a “Christian specific” book.
7. Prayer and Meditation
I spend time after reading mulling over what I just read, praying about it and then saying my prayers for the close of the day.
If you are not a person who prays, you could use this time to meditate on what you have just read and spend some time thinking about the words and how it would apply to your life, for example.
From there I loop back to gratitude and I pray thankfully for the day, for my family, for my work, my employer and so much more.
My gratitude is often for my lovely warm bed as I snuggle down. I believe that we are blessed if we have a roof over our heads and a warm bed to sleep in every night – part of the social heart that I was born with. Something I frequently pray for is the eyes to see what I can do to make a difference in the life of someone else.
I also pray for protection and safety for my loved ones and enjoy just spending time in the presence of the Lover of my soul before falling asleep.
Tuning Out Of The Day & Into the Place Of Rest For The Night
There is so much we can do at night which will set us up for a positive tomorrow. What we focus our minds on, how we treat our bodies (exercise, hydrate, rest), our relationships with others (which we have hardly touched on here) all have an effect on how we sleep and how we wake the next day!
I encourage you, be mindful of the way you spend your time at night, when we sleep our minds do not stop and if we feed our minds with positive, loving thoughts and ideas, that can only be of benefit.
Sharing Is Caring
If you would like to share any ideas to add to this article about nighttime habits, please feel free to leave me a comment below. I always respond.
Blessings
