all of these things are helpful but the most helpful part is doing them consistently both as far as how often you do them as well as when you do them. try to have a consistent bedtime (obviously, going to bed at the exact same time every night isn’t possible for most people, but try to have a 2 hour or so window for your goal bedtime) and try to match your plans to your bedtime and not your bedtime to your plans

1. relaxes body
2. also can help prevent restless leg syndrome
3. do each stretch for 15-30 seconds- using a stopwatch is recommended
4. have a low stimulation thing to listen to while stretching, such as chill music or a podcast that doesn’t require a lot of brain
5. my stretching routine:
1. ankles/shins
1. while standing, press top of foot (toe area) to ground
2. arch of foot
1. while standing, have foot behind you with knee straight, heel off of ground and foot flexed, pressure on ball of foot/big toe
3. calves
1. lower calf: squat, keeping back as vertical as possible, have heels as close to the ground as possible OR stand with foot behind you and knee bent, press heel down until as close to the floor as possible
2. upper calf: stand with foot behind you with knee straight and press heel as close to floor as possible
4. front of thighs
1. while standing, bend one leg and grab with hand
5. back of thighs/back
1. bend in half with arms hanging towards ground OR sit with legs straight out in front of you and reach towards toes
6. butt/lower back
1. while sitting, have one leg stretched out and bend other leg over it. twist body towards side with bent leg, using arm opposite bent leg to twist better
7. lower back/side
1. while sitting crosslegged, lean towards the side and forward with arm up (should feel along side and side of lower back above hip)
8. butterfly stretch
1. while sitting, press bottoms of feet together, pull heels as close to body as possible and press down on knees
9. inner upper arm
1. clasp hands behind back and extend arms (should stretch the part of the arm that lays against the body while arms are down)
10. shoulder blade
1. cross arm across front of body and pull as close to body as possible with other arm (should feel along shoulder blade, outer shoulder, and upper arm)
11. back of upper arm
1. lift arm straight up and bend so hand is touching back, use other arm to pull (should feel along wheat is the back of upper arm while arm is down)
12. inner forearm
1. while sitting, place hands palm down on a flat surface with fingers pointing towards you (rotate arms away from each other)
13. outer forearm
1. while sitting, place hands palm up with fingertips facing you)
14. neck/spine
1. while sitting, tilt head forward and slightly to the side and use hand to gently pull head down (should feel along side of spine, repeat on both sides)

1. for about an hour before intended sleep try to keep low lighting, a lamp or a candle or something, no overhead lighting, warm light is best
2. same goes for your phone screen, keep the brightness down as far as possible and have the night light mode on so the light is warmer

1. generally attempt to avoid social media, especially things that may be emotionally involved

2. play games or read something that aren’t super involved and are low energy
1. if you are reading on your phone, have it set to white text on a black background

1. iphones can have a downtime mode set up, including turning the night light mode on, have it turn on an hour before your intended bedtime automatically2. add social media, any people it would be stressful to text, people whom you know texting might keep you up, etc to things you cant use during downtime
1. also get in the habit of letting people know that it’s downtime/bedtime and that you won’t be answering if you want to have them reachable

1. human bodies have hour and a half sleep cycles- try to have the time you go to sleep be a multiple of that before you need to wake up, waking up will be much easier at the end of a sleep cycle as you will be waking up out of the shallowest level of sleep
2. the app sleepytime does the math for you, it also takes into consideration the approximately 15 minutes it takes for you to fall asleep after closing your eyes

hitting the snooze button over and over, especially for short increments of time, just makes you sleepier as your body isn’t able to get back to deep sleep

1. over the counter and legally prescribed sleep aids can be helpful for helping get your schedule on track
1. be careful using benadryl, as too much can cause nightmares/hallucinations. i have also found it can make restless leg syndrome worse
2. while weed can help make you tired, it impedes on REM sleep and makes your sleep itself worse
2. i generally will put my sleep playlist on bedtime mode for half an hour, if it turns off and i’m still awake, that’s when i take a sleep aid

the mythbusters proved that it is better to lay there doing nothing, even if you aren’t completely asleep, than to be actively awake. if you can’t do the completely laying there in the silence and the dark, put on a podcast or chill music, but stay off phone or from doing any sort of activities

1. set an alarm if you have obligations, don’t expect your body to wake you up when you want it to, especially not at first
2. 20 minutes- the ideal power nap
3. 90 minutes- one sleep cycle
4. 30 minutes- DO NOT DO THIS ONE (it’ll just make you groggier)