8 Ways to Go to Bed Earlier

So I've recently been writing on the topic of sleep for the last couple of posts, so now after writing those posts I thought it would be a good idea to give a few handy tips to get to bed earlier as it's something I haven't specifically gone into. 

I realise for some getting to bed early wont be possible because of commitments they have. For example work. For me when I work later I know that I'm going to be unable to go to bed early. I would like to say that my blog is my full-time job but it's not. I also have another job that is my first source of income. So when I work a late shift which for example the last two nights 21:00 (which isn't that late), but by the time I've got home (22:30), had something to eat (23:00), and completed other minor things and got ready for bed, it's normally after midnight.

For those of you who do have a chance to go to bed earlier but are failing in doing so, hopefully some of these tips will be of help to you.

1. Decide what Time

The first thing to do when wanting to get to bed earlier would be to decide what time you would like to try and be in bed for. For example; lets say that you go to bed at midnight at the moment or maybe even later and you decide that you would like to be in bed for 10:30. 

Try not to make vague times as this will only make you push the boundaries. For example; "I want to go to bed between 10 and 11". Although this sounds reasonable and it will be easy to stick to some days, there are going to be days where you tell yourself "It's only 10 now, I don't have to be in bed until 11", and what will happen is that you'll stop what you're doing just before 11 and not give yourself enough time to get to bed and so you'll run over your limit - thus breaking the newly forming habit.

2. Cut-off time

So after you've decided what time you'd like to go to bed the next thing to do would be to set yourself a preliminary deadline or cut-off time where you stop what your doing so that you can get ready for bed and get into bed on time.

For example: say that you've decided to go to bed at 11:00. So you're cut-off time is 10:30 lets say. That gives you 30 minutes to stop what you're doing and get into bed. If you are someone who likes to read before going to bed then maybe your cut-off time will be 10:00 - it's up to you as long as you're able to make it to bed on time.

A sub-tip for this tip is to set an alarm. Set an alarm to ring when it hits your cut-off time just so that you wont forget. 

3. Avoid T.V

If you're wanting to go to bed earlier, don't watch a t.v program that runs right up until your bed-time as you'll just end up not getting to bed on time. So if for example you're wanting to get to bed for 11:00, don't decide to watch an hour long t.v program that starts at 10:00.

In fact if you're someone who likes watching t.v a lot, it would probably be best to try and avoid it altogether within an hour or two of your bedtime as it will be easy for you to get sucked-in to watching a lot more than you originally intended.

If you are wanting to reduce the amount of t.v you're watching or stop altogether then here's a previous post of mine: 8 Steps to Reduce T.V Watching.

4. Acknowledge the Time

For many people who do stay up late they don't really have a concept of what late is - not any more. They may look at the time and see it's 24:00 but yet think that they still have hours left, well, they don't. Because before you know it with that mindset it's 02:00-03:00 in the morning and you're just turning-in.

I remember when I used to go to bed all the time on the other side of midnight in the early hours of the next day, and I realised how my perception of what late was had changed. I can remember when I used to think 10:00 was late, then when  I started to stay up until 11:00 that became the new standard of what late was. Every time I stayed up later, my concept of what late was just got shifted further and further back until I wasn't getting nearly as much sleep as I should.

Basically just be honest about the time and admit to yourself it's late when it's 12:00.

There's nothing wrong with staying up until late but it's key that you acknowledge it's late because otherwise how can you go to bed earlier if what you perceive as early is actually late?

5. Finish Text Conversations (Mainly for students)

I know what it's like to have text conversations and I realise how much time they can consume. So if you are trying to get to bed early it would be sensible to try and round off any text conversations you have with friends before you go to bed. Don't fall into the trap of texting whilst you're in bed because what's the point of going to bed at all if you're effectively staying-up anyway? You might as well not go to bed at all.

If they don't get the hint that you're trying to round-off the conversation then you could always be blunt and say "I'm going to bed now, speak to you tomorrow/soon". If they text back then you could just ignore the text, I mean you did just text them that you were going to bed. :)

6. Why do You Want to Go to Bed Earlier?

There has got to be a reason or reasons to why you want to go to bed earlier, so try to keep them in mind when you are dragging yourself off to bed - they will serve as motivation. 

If you would like to read about what can happen if you don't get enough sleep, then here's a previous post of mine: 9 Effects of Sleep Deprivation.

7. Consistency

I don't know how many times I've stressed this in other posts but "consistency breeds momentum". Whenever you're trying to form a new habit the main thing to do is to remain consistent. This is the best way to get your body into the rhythm of your new habit (in this case bed-time) and before you know it it will feel like normal. 

I've written a previous post about a motivational technique that is based upon consistency: Don't Break the Chain.

8. Reward

A popular motivational trick a lot of people use for when wanting to start and stick to something is to reward themselves after completing a mini-goal. For example: So you do decide to go to bed earlier and so for every two weeks of completing doing so you treat yourself to a film at the cinemas or something of similar nature etc.

Conclusion

If you do start going to bed earlier and you are able to stick at doing so for an extended period of time (something like 3-4 weeks or more) you'll already be able to feel the difference; the amount of energy you have, your personality and behaviour, your confidence, and your health.