Better Sleep Homework Results

What I Changed.

I decided to focus on three changes.  I wanted to go to bed at a specific time.  I wanted to stop using screens 30 minutes before bedtime.  Finally I wanted to not drink alcohol within two hours of going to bed.  My normal routine is to go to the bedroom at 9 PM.  Normally take care of hygiene and watch Youtube videos for between 15 and 60 minutes.  I know picking up the ipad is not good for my sleep for two reasons.  First it is the screen exposure and second it delays me laying down and going to sleep.  I justify this the same way I do alcohol – I have a job I do during the day (not health coaching) and I deserve a break.   

The Days I Logged.

On all four days I headed to the bedroom between 9pm and 9:15 pm each day.  I have a Fit Bit so I used the time the Fit Bit told me I went to sleep.  What I saw was that I was actually not starting to sleep until an average of 10:35 PM.  The latest I started to sleep was 11:40 PM.  My average hours of sleep was 6 hours and 18 minutes.  The week I chose to do that homework was the week before my vacation so timing was not ideal.  I checked the two weeks before and my average was 7 hours and 10 minutes.  Notice I started in a deficit from my normal week.   This highlighted for me the challenges I would face as the week progressed.

My Results

I did not plan well so I had a lapse.  As the week went on I had challenges at work and spent more time in the evening getting ready for my trip.  Inspite of this my average sleep hours improved to 6 hours and 35 minutes.  This value remained under my 7 hour 10 minute average. I did not use the ipad, however, I went to the bedroom an hour later.  I did feel slightly more rested, raising my score by one point.  My average score for how quickly I fell asleep remained unchanged.  The amount of time I felt I was awake improved by one point.  I attributed this to being more tired rather than better sleep hygiene.  It very well could have been to reduced screen exposure.  Each night I did stop drinking alcohol early and I am sure that helped.

What I learned

Change is hard no matter who you are.  I knew I was going to have challenges during these days.  I did not plan well. I am still focusing on the same three items.  I know it takes 2-3 months to form a habit.  Recovering for a lapse as I have had likely will not take as long because I am aware and believe that I am able to do better.