Designed By Miya

Are you struggling to fall asleep or stay asleep? Unfortunately, I struggle with both. Initially, I considered myself to have a healthy relationship with sleep, but as I plummeted into adulthood, I noticed my sleep patterns were extremely inconsistent. Stress is my biggest trigger for sleepless nights, and I realized I needed to quickly discover how to resolve any insomnia-related conflicts. Here, I discuss the strategies I implemented to combat late-night social media scrolling and severe overthinking: two factors that contributed to my many sleepless nights.

1. Preparing to Wind Down

I’ve learned that my bedtime is more than the time I actually fall sleep. I’ve learned how much winding down before bed can be beneficial for a restful night. I personally refer to my wind down routine as “closing my house down.” I have a hard closing time of 7:00 PM every single evening. I work from home as a freelancer, so it can be difficult to get up from my computer or turn off my thoughts about my work, but identifying a solution to a good night’s rest became a top priority. I close my house down by checking outside lights, ensuring all doors are locked, cleaning my kitchen and the common areas, and completely stopping all physical or online work. I fully plunge into comfort mode. I only go into my kitchen for water or a snack. I do not invite any friends over, nor do I begin a new Netflix series to avoid late-night binging. I take the time to resolve matters within the current day, forget about the previous day, and prepare for the next day. My wind down routine was necessary to implement because I realized I was getting in bed with my day and not taking the time to actually digress from my day. This caused endless scrolling in my phone, overthinking, and I inadvertently developed anxiety towards my tasks for the next day. Adopting a wind down routine before my bedtime routine significantly contributed to better sleep.

Tips for you:

• Identify your stopping points for the night, whether by task or by time.

• Remember you need personal time for yourself and your family. Work can wait.

• Choose how you will digress from your day (going out with friends, walking in the park, going to the gym, etc.)

2. Bath/Shower Routine

If showering or bathing is typically one of your evening duties, how you take them can improve your overall sleep. I began to treat my nighttime shower as a component of a good night’s rest instead of a task to “wash my day off.” I purchased shower items intended to provoke a calming atmosphere, such as body wash, Epson salt, body scrubs, and essential oils with lavender, chamomile, and eucalyptus. These are just a few of my favorite scents that provoke peace and calmness. I have a waterproof shower speaker that I commonly use in the morning or daytime, and I typically play my favorite playlists. For bedtime, I play yoga and jazz music, and I play motivational podcasts that help silence the many thoughts in my mind.

Tips for you:

• Develop a shower/bath routine and acquire relaxing body products preserved for your nighttime routine.

• Research calming additives, such as essential oils, candles, and stress techniques to utilize before bed.

3. Skincare Routine

I am new to skincare routines, as I have never struggled with facial acne, scarring, or seasonal breakouts. However, I recently learned how beneficial skincare products can be to maintain and elevate the current state of my skin. I took a deeper approach to cleansing, moisturizing, and treating my skin, so I devised a morning and nighttime skincare routine. My nighttime skincare routine involves a facial steamer, which amplifies my relaxation, and massaging my skin with my products exuberantly calms me. I have a makeup vanity, which allows me to comfortably sit down and enjoy the process, and I decorated the vanity to fit my aesthetic needs. After my nighttime shower or bath, I dress in my fluffiest robe and complete my skincare routine at my vanity. Even if you’re not into skincare routines, massaging and stretching your limbs before bed can aid in better sleep.

Tips for you:

• Your face has muscle and holds tension too. Massage it.

• Take care of the skin you’re in.

4. Bedtime Task

I enjoy cuddling with a good book and my favorite journal. At one point, reading and journaling in or before bedtime was practically impossible due to my focus issues, but I have marginally conquered this issue and can commit to at least 30 minutes of either task. The current books I am reading are “The Mountain is You” by Brianna Wiest, “A Day Late and A Dollar Short” by Terry McMillan, and “Crushing” by T.D. Jakes. I physically journal in my notebook and digitally journal using a digital prayer journal titled “Lord, Hear Me.” I discovered that committing to a task before I fall asleep disrupts my urge to scroll on social media. A bedtime task is my last outlet for the night, and I choose to do something peaceful and mentally calming. If you journal digitally, I suggest applying relative focus settings on your device or be diligent to refrain from accessing any messaging or social media apps.

Tips for you:

• Commit to a preferred task at least an hour before bed. This is the task that will put you to sleep.

• Avoid your phone at least an hour before bed unless you receive an urgent notification.

5. Morning Anticipation

Physically and mentally prepare for your morning! I completely underestimated how beneficial preparing for my morning can be for my sleep and overall productivity for the next day. If you commute to work, you can start by setting out your clothes, bags, and any other items you need for your day. If you work from home, you can prepare your workspace for the next day. I do so by opening my planner, grabbing my favorite pens and highlighters, and refilling my aromatherapy diffuser. I implemented even smaller preparation tasks, such as identifying the podcast I would listen to while preparing for the day or grabbing the coffee mug I would use in the morning. I am a coffee lover, so enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee is something I look forward to every morning. Grabbing my preferred mug at night and setting it next to my coffee machine increases the anticipation for the next morning. When journaling before bed, I complete my meal plan for the next day. I am a foodie, so when I have a favorite meal planned, I am ecstatic to wake up the next morning!

Tips for you:

• Find at least one task you can do to prepare for an exciting morning.

• Think of a planned activity you can enjoy the next day (grabbing a smoothie, getting a pedicure, decluttering, etc.).

6. Caffeine

For the sake of context, I must report to caffeine duty! However, I am not here to convince you to cease your consumption. For a very long time, specifically between 2014-2017, during my undergrad, I consumed an incredible amount of coffee. As with any stimulant, it is common to become tolerant to high levels of consumption. It took years for me to recognize the good and bad effects of caffeine. I mostly drank coffee because I liked the taste rather than drinking it for an increase in productivity. I did not have any regulatory habits related to coffee. I did not regulate the number of cups I drank in a day, and I did not regulate the time of day I stopped drinking coffee. I realized my perception of a quality night of rest was heavily impaired because I believed I was a night owl, and I blamed everything but caffeine as to why I could not fall asleep or stay asleep. Through trial and error and with discipline, I limited my intake to one cup of coffee a day and refrained from consuming after 12:00 noon. Once I began to limit and refrain, I noticed how one cup of coffee was more than enough, and I realized how long the productivity jitters lingered after just one cup. I also invested in quality coffee and quality coffee runs. I purchased a Nespresso coffee machine, and I completely stopped patronizing coffee shops, but when I did need to purchase coffee on-the-go, I made sure to get the coffee I truly wanted. This helped me avoid feeling as if I needed more coffee.

Tips for you:

• Regulate how many cups you consume daily.

• Select the best time of day for you to stop coffee consumption.

• Ensure you are consuming quality coffee to maximize the effects in the first cup.

7. Melatonin, Magnesium, and Other Sleep Aids

Melatonin is a popular sleep aid that can assist you with falling asleep or staying asleep. I did some research on a popular supplement brand who sells melatonin gummies, and I decided I was going to try them. I didn’t notice any immediate effects, good or bad, but after the first week, I noticed I was having very vivid dreams. Honestly, I was dreaming about previous relationships and acquaintances that are no longer a part of my life, and although I am healed from any turmoil those relationships caused, I did not want to dream about anyone I no longer speak to. After the 3rd dream in a row, I had to cut out the gummies, and I never had a relative dream again. On X, formerly known as Twitter, I came upon a thread of women discussing their favorite methods to conquer sleepless nights and insomnia. One user stated she had extreme nightmares when she took melatonin. This baffled me because I never considered that the gummies were a factor as to why I was having those dreams. From there, I became fascinated with learning the effects of melatonin, and sure enough after considerable research, nightmares are a common side effect of melatonin. I do remember sleeping well those nights, but the dreams were not worth taking the gummies any longer. I expelled that idea, and the same day, I discovered a viral Tik Tok discussing the “sleepy girl mocktail,” which was a glass of tart cherry juice and magnesium. The comments revealed users discussing their experiences with the side effects, and I learned tart cherry juice contains melatonin. As much as I understand side effects are a result of any medication or supplement, it is a personal choice to choose which side effects are durable for you. Personally, dreaming about an EX-boyfriend is NOT an option. The amount of melatonin in tart cherry juice is considerably less than the melatonin you will find in melatonin supplements, but tart cherry juice is an alternate option to supplements. I frequently consume tart juice due to the several health benefits it offers, and I have recognized marginal progress in my ability to fall asleep. I have not yet tried adding magnesium to tart cherry juice, and this is mainly due to the side effects from melatonin. I suggest consulting your primary physician to ensure melatonin and any other sleep aids are right for you.

Tips for you:

• Consult your primary physician before consuming any sleep aid supplements.

• Do your research and use sleep aids as a last result to better your sleep.

8. Reminders and Sleep Focus

To be successful with my bedtime and nighttime routines, I had to implement multiple reminders in my phone to remind myself to stop working and begin closing my house down. It took time to respect the timers, but I eventually obeyed them. During iOS 16, the Do Not Disturb feature stopped working for me, and when enabled, I still received calls and app notifications with sound. This bug disturbed my sleep, and I could not sleep with my phone turned off, so I learned how to use the Sleep Focus feature. I am so glad my DND stopped working because I would have never used this feature, and I found it to be very helpful! What I enjoy most about Sleep Focus is how I can view how long I was asleep in the iOS Health app. You can also set the focus to initiate a wind down reminder set at your preferred time. For example, you can set the wind down reminder to 30 minutes before your bedtime, and you will receive a notification that you have 30 minutes before your Sleep Focus begins. You can set an alarm, and once it is set, you can also skip the alarm. Once an alarm schedule is set, you can modify the schedule for each alarm moving forward or only for the next day. I enjoy tracking my sleep and viewing my sleep progress over a week’s time. The Sleep Focus feature was a missing piece of a giant puzzle I was trying to assemble, and it has helped me tremendously!  

Tips for you:

• Implement a schedule or reminder process to wind down before bed.

• As you implement strategies, track your sleep to view your progress.

9. Silence

Silence is truly golden! For no diagnostic reason at all, we can become overstimulated by our environments. I believe it is healthy and sound to spend at least 30 minutes in silence each day or right before bed. For some, this may not be 100% possible due to your living dynamics, but I suggest trying to find a routine or unusual time to operate in silence for a comfortably specified time. Implementing this strategy before bed can help you if you frequently overthink, struggle to silence the voices in your head, or implode your thoughts with content you scroll on social media.

Tips for you:

• Commit to 30 minutes to an hour of a focused-based task daily.

• Spend at 10-30 minutes in silence daily.

• Choose positive thoughts.

In all, your sleepless nights can be due to a number of factors. Discover those factors, and then discover a remedy. The first attempt may not be the last attempt. One strategy may not work, whereas another strategy will. You deserve quality sleep, and I hope you find the needed elements to enjoy a quality night of rest. 

Author: Miya

October 1, 2023