(BTW: Thomas Frank has a couple amazing videos on going to bed, while this blog is very in depth, he does cover some awesome stuff in his videos, so I linked a video of his at the bottom of this post! I don't do everything he does, but I've used a couple things from him that have done wonders for me) Oh and checkout my FB Page Freedom By Discipline and leave me a "Like"
Here are the 3 main benefits of consistently going to bed early:
Firstly, going to bed early means you aren't so tempted by late-night bad habits. For me, these were playing PC games way too long & then PMO'ing. When you go to bed earlier, a bunch of the triggers that exist for these types of things disappear! With habit breaking, you'll find that a lot of the battle is removing temptations...
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| He's not going to last long... |
Tip #1: Avoid computer, TV or phone screens for an hour before bed. As you may have already heard, screens emit light that tells your brain its still the middle of the day, so its harder to wind down when you finally go to bed. A lot of computers and smart phones have options in their display settings to turn on "night mode" at a specific time each day. For me, I have my night mode for devices turn on automatically at 8:30, and I usually turn off my computer at 8:45 anyways.
Secondly, going to bed consistently means that your circadian rhythm is given a chance to shine, and that's a Big deal! The circadian rhythm is basically the biological clock in your head that tells your brain what time of the day it is; so, when to be tired and when to come out of sleep. That means when the alarm clock goes off in the morning, you won't be deep asleep as often!
Tip #2: Read for an hour before you get into bed. For me, at 8:45 I write down tomorrow's schedule (its lot harder for me to do in the morning, and it helps to have already "agreed" to a schedule beforehand). Then if I've sat down on my reading couch AT 9:00 pm, after a half hour I can read one of my favorite fictional audio books for the last half hour, right now I am reading the first Thrawn book, and its a really good incentive to get my arse on the couch at 9! Tim Ferris, a rather successful entrepreneur and life hacker, says that its best to read something fictional before going to bed, since it will let your brain unwind more than say, a business book that gets "your wheels turning" in a sense. I also like doing an audio book right before bed, because then I can brush my teeth and such whilst reading -- synergy :)
Third...ly, going to bed early means you can get up early and while this may not seem like a benefit at first glance, its actually an amazing bonus! Imagine waking up at 7 or 8 along with the rest of Nation. Now imagine waking up 1 or two hours before they do! Trust me, this is coming from someone that used to dread waking up at 6 when I had to -- now I wake up at 5 and feel so good! You should give it a try once. Look for the following benefits when you do:
1. A feeling of accomplishment, since you not only got up on time, but also because the rest of your competition/coworkers are still in bed while you are already up and running.
2. A calm state of being, without the regular distraction on the night or the late morning. No one bothering you, even social media is finally quiet (usually). This allows you to actually concentrate on whatever you want. For me that means devotionals, doing 15 to 30 minutes of Jordan Peterson's Self Authoring program or simply writing down my thoughts, and then starting work!
3. When the sun finally comes up, and you've been up for a couple hours, its just a good feeling haha.
---- NOTE: Remember to give yourself at least 7 hours of sleep the first time you do this, I'd recommend 8, otherwise you'll wake up feeling groggy. Now I go to bed at 10 and wake up at 5 because I have the circadian powa with me.
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| While they Slept, I Conquered a Mountain. |
Tip #3: Improve your environment. If you have noisy neighbors like I do, you may want to invest $20 in a somewhat loud fan, it gives a nice constant noise that drowns out other sporadic ones -- this was a life saver for me! Another way to improve your environment is to make sure your room is as dark as possible (this helps your brain understand that its nighttime). And if you haven't already, you probably want to put your phone on Do Not Disturb, otherwise one of your friends is going to add you to a group message and a night of endless "DING"'s will ensue...
Tip #4: Commit to trying it for a week. And if that seems too long, try it for 3 days. Anyone can do anything for 3 days. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson says he could range from a window for a month, though I don't have THAT much faith in him, I think only Joe "I hang from windows in my sleep" Rogan could do that. But I digress, just give it a try for a few days, that way your circadian rhythm will have a bloody chance to kick in and help you out. And don't forget this next sentence: It isn't about when you Wake Up, its about when you Go To Sleep! Don't be like I was for 2 months and focus on getting up at a specific time no matter what -- you just wind up going back to sleep in the morning or halfway through the day. Be a good general of you body and give it the supplies of energy it needs!
I sincerely hope you found this helpful! If you'd like to follow my Facebook page, its also called Freedom By Discipline! Also, here's a video done by one of my favorite YouTubers, Thomas Frank: How to Get to Bed on Time , I would definitely recommend subscribing to his channel! And if you want to help a guy out, consider commenting that you " came here from freedombydiscipline.com! "
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