Extremely simple tips for good sleep
It’s worth trying for a week
Introduction
I have struggled with sleep for a long time. Getting to bed very late, not being able to sleep till 3am, waking up groggy, all of the common bad sleep habits. Over time after reading up a lot and listening to podcasts, I figured out a few simple things I can follow. They are simple, because they only need 1 thing — getting started.
Follow this with the discipline of an Army Officer. Discipline is simply you telling your brain to STFU and treating it like a petulant child that it is most of the time.
I’ve listed it in descending order of importance.
1.Don’t work your brain 2 hours before sleeping.
Imagine you were living 200 years ago without electricity in a village. It’s after sunset, there’s some twilight. You prepare dinner, have that with your family and you’re sitting around in your hut lit by an oil-lamp. There is silence. Crickets are making their cricket noise. You are talking with your family. and then the conversation slows down. You’re all sitting in silence.
Imagine the status of the brain in this situation. It’s just... relaxed and bored. The world around has fallen off and there’s nothing from the outside for you to think about or process.
You are sitting... with your thoughts... just bored. You lay out your bedding and drift into sleep.
Today this is likely what is happening — work ends at 10pm. You eat some crap with the TV on. The great TV show is making you feel a 1000 things. Brain is not bored. It’s ACTIVE. you finish watching something at a cliffhanger, aargh! Then later you get on youtube or one of these apps. Brain is ACTIVE. But you somehow drift into sleep, and brain doesn’t really get that off time at all. Not good.
So, just try this — 2 hours before sleeping, go back 200 years. Shut everything out. Just sit, talk, hear the sounds. Maybe do some boring stuff like read something you don’t like or do the dishes. Reduce lights. Be with yourself. Do this for 7 days. Incredible results.
2. Be shockingly busy throughout the day
Just keep moving throughout the day. Work like crazy, do chores, commute, gym, whatever. Just be shockingly busy. When you look back at your day, you shouldn’t have felt the passage of time AT ALL. Because you were busy. Tire yourself out basically. It’s easier than you think.
3. Keep screens far away from the bed
This is a fairly simple common sense one. Some nights it’ll take you longer to get sleep. You’ll jump to your phone or ipad or TV. But don’t. Let your brain get used to the crickets, it will get bored at some point and you’ll sleep great.
4. NO BIG IDEAS 2 hours before sleep
Many times I get a great idea about something, and my brain goes into ideation. It could be something as simple as making more space in my wardrobe, or trying out a great cooking idea. Nope. Don’t indulge. You have a full day where you can squeeze these things in. Night is not for this.
If you get a big idea, write it down, take it up first thing in the morning. Just don’t indulge. Go back to the crickets.
All this is geared towards 2 things— tiredness and boredom. These are absolutely essential for sleep. Again:
Tiredness.
Boredom.
That’s it. Try this stuff, you’ll wake up feeling great. It’s simple and easy as well.
