It is important to have a bedtime routine to follow. The body craves consistency and if you want to ever get out of your old patterns, you need to set new ones that put your sleep first. We want to achieve success at this naturally.
You need to decide on a plan that will work for you. I can't stress that enough. Don't set a bedtime for 9pm, if you know that you can't do it consistently. You should be able to apply the routine for a week or two to test out how well it works for you.
You'll also want to make a note of other methods you may be trying at the same time. It's important to know what could really be affecting your results.
You want to get very specific which means numbers. You should know when you're going to bed and what time you're getting up.
After you've done it for a few weeks, sit down and evaluate. How did things go? Did you follow it properly? Did you have any results? You'll want to change things if they didn't work for you. You may view it as hopeless if you fail the first time at this, but sometimes the littlest change can have a major effect.
Remember, your goal is to get back into a regular sleep routine, so if you have to give up your social life on the weekends, so be it. You have to be determined enough to remain consistent. That means if you feel like hitting the snooze, you get up anyway to be consistent.
I think you should aim for around 7-8hrs a night. I think that is a good and healthy amount for a person to get. Some people can get by on less and other people need more. You have to be objective enough to know exactly how much you need.
It's important to note that sleep experts all agree that you can't make up the sleep you lost during the night by sleeping in, in the morning. It just won't work for you as much as you'd like it too.
To keep everything consistent, you'll want to keep the time you get ready to go to bed consistent. If you go into down mode at 9pm, do it every night like that.
Your nightly routine has to be consistent because it programs your mind, just as you can program a dog to do what you want. If you brush your teeth at a certain time every night, you'll feel like falling asleep at the same time. It's all about triggers.
Don't do any day time naps because this will throw everything off.
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