Ok, so we hear a lot about what “successful people” do in life. Here at Urban Mattress, we tend to take this stuff with a grain of salt because everyone’s different and must set his or her own rhythms. And who defines “successful,” anyway?
Nonetheless, we can all learn something from patterns from the lives of people who seem emulation-worthy. So we’ll take time to talk about some of their bedtime habits. We know sleeping well is important for living well and many of us American adults have trouble sleeping at night because we can’t turn off our brains. Surely any tips for getting a great night’s sleep are worth looking into! So here goes…
These sleep tips from Forbes are based on successful business executives. So we can probably surmise on the front end that these are people who carry more than average responsibility and stress on a daily basis.
When it comes to bedtime, successful executives:
- Spend time with family. Sometimes it’s really hard to draw healthy boundaries between work and home life—especially nowadays when so much of work is accessible at home via smartphone, tablet and laptop. We tend to define ourselves by our work, but research has shown that close relationships give life more meaning and joy than work does.
Good marriages are more essential to wellbeing than good jobs. And time with your children is precious. If you think about it, you most likely have a lot less time with your kids before they move out than you do working over the span of an entire career.
- Read. Cracking a book for enjoyment before bed is an awesome way to relax. Works like a charm. (Don’t read on your iPad, though—the blue light from the screen could keep you awake. Old-fashioned books are the best way to go.)
Plus, successful people read a lot—and not just serious work-related stuff. Like athletes cross-train, executives can get deeper breadth of insight into their work by reading fiction and non-fiction books from fields other than their own.
- Plan. Taking time to review what you accomplished that day and what’s on your agenda for the day ahead can help to quiet your mind and relieve anxiety. Forbes tells us that executives find prioritizing and writing down what they need to accomplish tomorrow means they don’t have to think about it anymore at bedtime.
- Turn off the cell phone! And not just when turning off the lights. Shush that phone and any tablets or computers earlier in the evening so your mind will have fewer distractions. This allows more space for any “freewheeling” preconscious thoughts to rise to the surface before you’re trying to sleep. Also, try keeping an old-fashioned notebook and pen by your bed to jot down your noisy thoughts so your brain can quiet down.
Experts say we can’t fully control shutting off our minds at night, but these things help us process and find peace. They help us make space to do things that are important to us and to sort through thoughts, emotions and ideas that might keep us awake otherwise.
Sleep tight, Urbanites!