Why I’m Giving Myself a Bedtime

Re-launching this post from 2018! It is still so relevant, and I am happy to say that years later, I still have an amazing relationship with rest and sleep routines :) I hope you enjoy and get some helpful nuggets!

We all know how important it is to get enough sleep, generally. It’s our body’s chance to heal itself physically and mentally. It helps us prevent and recover from illness, have clarity in our minds, and let’s just be honest – be in a better mood! It’s a crucial part of our health and wellness routine, and we all know that! The question is, do we honor it?? Here’s my recent experience…

Dave and I generally go to bed at a decent time and plan to get about 7-8 hours of sleep. That’s our system as a couple. And as I’ve noticed with many of our routines, when he’s away for work, I throw out the system so I can get more done. I have a tendency to overbook myself with “STUFF” while he’s gone, thinking that since I’ll be at home by myself, I’ll have more time to myself, and I want to take advantage of it. Sometimes this means staying up a bit later to do some bedtime yoga or an evening meditation, or sometimes it means packing on more work-related tasks: writing more blogs, working on social media strategies, reading self-improvement books, or designing new yoga sequences and playlists. Whatever the “stuff” is, I always assume that I have extra time to stay up late to get things done so that ultimately, I will feel more productive (key word being “feel”) and be able to spend more time with Dave when he gets home without worrying so much about my to-do list.

Is it worth it? Am I REALLY more productive when I stay up later?

Recently, when Dave was at a training, I decided to stay up late (till 1ish) to get some extra work done and watch motivational/inspiring YouTube videos before bed. Harmless, right? NOPE.

The next day…

• I woke up late and felt so foggy in the morning.
• My digestion was whacking all day.
• My neck and upper back hurt FOR DAYS after
• I wasn’t myself, and I didn’t get very much done the next day.

Ya’ll, this was only after ONE NIGHT of breaking my routine, and going to bed a few hours later, thinking it would be beneficial. It completely screwed up my body physically, physiologically, and mentally. It was SO NOT WORTH IT.

Here’s how “being more productive for 3 extra hours” pushed me farther away from my goals:

• I generally got less done the next day because I was foggy and un-motivated. Not to mention I slept in… obviously!
• My health suffered – I work so hard on having a balanced digestive system and it became very apparent that food choices and exercise are not the only thing to influence that.
• I wasn’t able to do the yoga that I wanted to do. One thing I AM good at is honoring my body with my practice. So, in this case, that meant forgoing headstand (which was the plan) and focusing more on gently mobilizing my neck and shoulders. Still got to do yoga, but I have some fun goal postures that I’m working toward, and I had to choose not to practice them. For the rest of the week.
• For days, I didn’t feel like myself. When I wake up confident and my body feels good, I do better in my business, my yoga, and my relationships. I move farther toward my goals every day. This was just not the case for basically the rest of the week.

SO… My new plan is that I’m creating a work-night bedtime for myself, and am not going to use Dave’s work trips as an excuse to throw that out the window. Now of course things in life come up, and I’ll plan for that accordingly, but generally, I know I’ll feel better and be more productive if I can just stick to a routine!

Do you have a general bedtime? Have you had an experience like mine where you noticed a ton of negative effects from even just one night of poor or less sleep? Would love to hear your experiences and comments below!

For the next few months, we’ll be going into “Rest & Digest” Season in my yoga membership. If you want to practice specialty yoga to help you get better rest, join us here!

Be (and sleep) well :)

XO,
B