Got to Get My Rest (Day 1)

For best results, cue this up on your music player of choice:

Joking aside, I firmly believe that sleep is a good foundation for learning. A student is not going to be firing on all cylinders and picking stuff up quickly in tutorial if they're struggling just to stay awake. I don't expect you'll disagree with me, but you might believe it's not something you can do a lot about. I struggled with insomnia for years, and I can't promise I can cure yours, but I did learn a lot about what helps and what doesn't, and I feel generally good about where I've gotten.

First jot down a few thoughts about your current sleeping pattern. Grab your pen and paper, write "SLEEP" boldly at the top and use these prompts to help you organize your thoughts. This is not meant to be punitive; I want you to celebrate what works well for you as well as identify opportunities for improvement.

1. On a scale from 1 to 10, how well is a good night's sleep contributing to your best life? You might choose 1 if your thoughts are "I can't fall asleep until really late, I wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep, when I finally do get asleep I can't wake up and so I miss classes and other events".  You might choose 10 if you can proudly say "I fall asleep quickly, sleep through the night, and wake refreshed in time for my day to start".
2. What's working well for you now?  (We don't want to mess with these things.)  You might have a habit of making your bed in the morning, so that when you go to sleep, you have a nice bed waiting to welcome you.  You might have good curtains that block outside light, or a quiet bedroom where street noise doesn't bother you.
3. What's the thing you most wish you could change?  From reading about sleep problems, most people wish they could fall asleep more easily.  Waking up in the middle of the night is a close second.
4. What's your sleep schedule? Many times people think they don't have one, but they mistake falling asleep late for not being consistent. You are probably quite consistently falling asleep at the same time every night, but it might be 2am or 3:30am.  If you can remember the times you fell asleep and woke up the last three nights, jot them down.  If you can't remember, make a little chart for you to fill them in for the next three nights.

The first thing we're going to do is pick your timing.  Consider your morning schedule - when is your earliest class/lab/tutorial/work shift?  What time would you ideally wake up to have time to get ready in the morning and travel there?  At this point, don't get fancy about waking up early to go for a run, or anything ambitious.  Keep it simple - there will be time for that later!  Now work backwards to when you are going to have lights out (probably 8 hours earlier, but do what makes sense to you), and designate the time 1 hr ahead as when you start your bedtime routine.

The next thing is to decide on that bedtime routine. This might sound like kid stuff, and it is - but it is because it works!  I trained two babies to sleep, and when I tried to fix my insomnia I used the same methods.  It consistently took three nights with the babies, and it took three nights for me too.  Those three nights were dreadful, though, so I hope you can commit to that length of time to really give it a try.  Be ready for immense boredom!  This will be one time in this course you'll have to make a big effort - most things are only small changes.

Here are things I want you to consider when you are creating your routine:

• Aim for 1 hour of tasks.
• Tasks should be a mix of things you "should" do, and things that are "treats" or "want to do".  The mix should be towards the pleasant, so that you look forward to starting the routine rather than dreading it.
• Think about a logical progression through your living space. I recommend starting with your desk - shut down your computer, and tidy up your schoolwork.  This is how I start my routine, because unfortunately my desk is in my bedroom.  This is true for many students.  It definitely impacts sleeping when you can't have a separate room, so build something in your routine that signals to your brain that work is over for the day.  If it helps, think of putting your desk to bed!
• You might then take any dishes from your desk to the kitchen, spend a few minutes in the kitchen (perhaps putting away clean dishes?), move to the bathroom, then the bedroom.  Consider what things you can do at each spot.
• Consider all five senses and build in things that address each one. You want to have as many signals as possible to your body that the time for sleep is coming. As a child, my bedtime routine involved a bath, getting into PJs, and a story. If you shower or bathe in the evening, that's a great signal to your body, plus warm water can be soothing and help sleep.  You might invoke taste by having a special treat, candy, or tea that you only have as part of this routine, while you're in the kitchen.  Toothpaste also works for this, especially if you only brush once a day. (That's what I do, but I don't necessarily recommend it!)  If you brush after every meal, good for you - consider getting a differently-flavoured toothpaste that you only use at bedtime, or use mouthwash after that last brushing of the day.
• There are many ways to incorporate scent.  I have trouble with a rash on my arms, so when I created my first bedtime routine I bought a special soothing cream that I only put on them at night.  You could have a scented candle or incense near your bed that you only light as you're getting into bed (of course, if you do this, be aware of the fire hazard - make sure putting it out is also part of the routine!).  For even less fuss but more money, use one of those room sprays just before you get into bed.
• Sleepwear doesn't work as a bedtime signal for your body and brain if you wear them when you're not sleeping.  I wear PJs around the house, so I'm not saying you shouldn't do that - it's one of the great pleasures of being a student!  I'm just saying, separate them into two categories, ones for daywear, and one for sleeping.  Keep the softest, most favourite ones only for sleep time, and put them on at the correct time in your routine. Putting away the clothes you take off might also logically be part of your bedtime routine.
• Music is a logical signal, but oddly, I find it doesn't work for me.  What did work were "sleep stories" that I found as an app.  There were only a few available for free, but they are incredibly boring stories told in a soothing voice.  On the one I used you could also turn on background sounds like running water or a fire (I couldn't use the fire one because it sounded like the clicking of a computer mouse, which kept me awake).  Putting them on was the last thing I did before turning off the light.  If you are inclined to include music, go right ahead.  Decide what it will be and when you will turn it on, and listen to that music ONLY during your bedtime routine. Obviously you'll want to choose something soothing.
• Reading at bedtime is a classic choice, but again, something that didn't work for me.  Either the books were too boring to look forward to, or they were too exciting and I didn't want to put them down. Reading school materials just feels like working.  I can see reading being helpful if you have a set of books that are so familiar to you that you aren't wondering what's coming next, and they don't bring up any anxious thoughts that might keep you awake.  If this works for you, by all means include it, and let me know what books work for you!
• What I found instead of reading was playing Sims Freeplay on my iPad.  I'm well aware that this contradicts everyone's advice about "no screens" before bed, but it's a good example of finding out what works for you.  If you are going to do this, you MUST make sure that the blue-shift sleep mode is enabled on your device. I couldn't play any games that were timed or were competitive in any way. I found the Sims and it was perfect - what I actually do is take my 20 Sims and put them through a bedtime routine.  They shower, snack, and go to bed, just like me!  I find it especially rewarding to take any toddlers I have and put them in bed for a "deep sleep".  In retrospect it's a fairly obvious signal to my brain that it's time for sleep.  (I'm not getting paid to recommend this game, by the way).

Once you have decided on the elements of your routine, write them on a post-it note or scrap paper that you can put somewhere visible and not forget when evening comes.  I've included a picture, but yours will probably be quite a bit more detailed.  Here are the two most important things I want to stress about when you follow this routine:

Example of bedtime routine (left) and writing about sleep (right)

1. This is not a grab bag of things to choose from each night.  You are going to write down a very specific, detailed, consistent routine that you are going to follow each night for three nights.  Try and spend roughly the same amount of time on each step each night as well.  If putting away clean dishes is a step, for instance, only do it for five or ten minutes, then stop.
2. Don't rush through the routine. When the time comes to start, push everything else out of your mind.  The only things you need to do between 10pm and 9:45am (using my timing as an example) are the things on that list.  Everything else can wait until tomorrow.  Set the intention to perform your routine calmly and thoughtfully.  You are only doing those things, so focus on those things. Try not to worry about your assignments while you're putting away your clothes from the day, for example.  Instead, admire the colour and pattern of your clothes, focus on folding them beautifully, and perhaps even thank them for keeping you warm today. As you leave each room for the last time, think about the fact that you don't intend to be back until morning.  You want to be mentally shrinking your world to just the place you sleep.

One final tip for falling asleep that comes from the book 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People [1].  Niven recommends that while brushing your teeth, you choose one topic to think about while you are falling asleep.  He suggests that this might help with the mind jumping around while you're trying to sleep.  Being a mathematician, for a long time my one thing was prime numbers.  I would count up by the prime numbers... 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23... and if I couldn't immediately remember if, say, 103 was prime, I would count up by each prime factor to test it.  Note that I was not using any smart techniques... I would literally count 2, 4, 6, 8... up to 104 and think "aha, not divisible by 2".  Then 3, 6, 9, 12.. up to 105, then 5, 10, 15... yes, it's silly, but it worked for me!

Put your post-it note or list where you can easily find it.  Since mine starts with shutting down my computer, I put it on my computer. 

1.  Niven, David. The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It. HarperCollins e-Books, 2009.