New Sleep Routine | My Week Experiment

Right guys, lets talk about sleep... No seriously... We all know the importance of sleep and how much it can affect our mental and physical health. But I'm sure a lot of us can admit that we just do not get enough sleep. Those countless hours scrolling through Instagram and watching our favourite tv show which turns into 10 back to back episodes means we are depriving ourselves of some much needed TLC. Or long study hours means we end up lacking in some serious body and mind replenishment. Trust me, I'm a big culprit myself, but after being inspired by all of those 'How Waking Up at 5am Changed My Life' YouTube videos, I decided to test it out for myself. So here I am to share with you my experience on how an early sleep routine impacted my life...

I can't lie to you, the first day was hard. When you are so used to going to bed between 11pm and 1am, the thought of even getting into bed so early was daunting, I was simply tossing and turning and ended up going on my phone for a bit. I had to put it away after a short while as the glaring lights did not help (lesson learned, don't be on your phone). Nevertheless, I had my alarm set for 5am. I also wanted to go gym in the morning as ideally, I would prefer to complete this at the beginning of my day rather than at the end. Buttttt I'll be honest with you, gym was a fail that first morning *ahem, first few mornings*. Although I did wake up to my alarm, I went straight back to sleep, but I never gave up trying. Long behold, I finally woke up on the 3rd day to go gym in the morning before I head off to work. So remember, persistence is key! Doesn't matter how many times you fail, there will be that one time that you will succeed! (#lifelesson101?)

The day I woke up and actually went to gym, I felt so much better as it was not a daunting task to complete after a long day at work. Once I arrived home, I did some blog work and was so tired that I actually had such an early night and probably one of the best sleeps ever. The early wake up call was consistent for the rest of the week, and I definitely felt changes in my overall mood because of it. So here's a few things to point out: 1) It felt amazing being able to leave work and come straight home without worrying about going gym; and 2) After being awake for around 16 hours+, my body was naturally tired and in 'sleep and relax' mode. Having a routine meant that my body was finally changing its own body clock and I found that I naturally started waking up super early without the need for an alarm. For me, this was the game changer as I realised that I could get so much more done in a day.

This leads onto the consequences of early wake up calls - productivity. Where I was waking up earlier, it meant I had more hours in the day to utilise my time. I remember there was an "oh wow" moment I had one day when I was on my laptop editing some blog posts, and I suddenly realised that it was only 11am. I can't tell you how shocked I was and how great it felt to have done so much so early on in the day. My motivation levels were higher and I felt more content as I was getting my sh*t done. I felt a lot more happier because of it too, and that feeling was my biggest motivator. Sometimes we don't realise, but our mind is such a powerful thing, and the more we do to nourish the brain, the more impact the outcome.

Here are some tips that I learned for better sleep and a fresh wake up call:

1. Try not to be on your phone just before you fall asleep. The radiation from the phone keeps your more alert which is no good when your brain is supposed to relax and slow down.

2. Equally, if you must be on your phone, then put your brightness on "eye comfort" mode where it reflects a warmer tint. The blue light is no good for your eyes and will only keep you awake, also causing unnecessary strain to your eyes.

3. Ever heard of ASMR videos? These videos have literally been a life changer for me and have helped me so much in going to sleep. The softening sounds and voices are extremely relaxing which helps you fall asleep. Type in ASMR videos into YouTube for a glimpse of what I'm talking about.

4. Eye exercise muscles - this sounds a bit silly but this is actually good for relaxing and strengthening your eye muscles before you sleep or when you wake up. All you need to do is close your eyes, and move your eyeballs up down left and right with pauses after each movement, repeat multiple times then finally just swirl your eyes round and round.

My one week experiment already showed multiple benefits that I knew would only improve my life if I were to stick to it long term. So this is something that I am definitely going to implement into my life gradually to where it becomes a natural habit. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit, so lets see if I can pull this off into a beneficial lifestyle change. And this is definitely something worth trying for yourself. If you are someone who generally complains that you just don't have enough time in the day, or maybe motivation levels are lacking, this could definitely be beneficial to you.

Are you an early riser? What does your sleep pattern look like? Let me know in the comments below!