How to go to bed earlier

(If you keep procrastinating at bedtime!)

When you learn how to go to bed earlier consistently, you can quickly gain all the amazing benefits of being well-slept: clearer thinking, more self-discipline...even seeing the world (and yourself!) in a more positive light. Need to say goodnight to late bedtimes? Then this quick guide is for you!

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By Katherine Bruce

There's nothing better than the glorious feeling of waking up naturally having had the right amount of sleep. But thanks to our busy lives, the lure of screens and being connected 24/7, it's never been easier or more tempting to forgo sleep and stay up late instead.

Fine for a night or two; problematic if it's happening almost every night.

Now, more and more of us are realising that constantly walking around sleep deprived isn't working for us us.

So here's a quick guide for how to go to bed earlier more often and get the sleep you deserve.

• Why can't I go to bed on time?
• 5 benefits of going to bed early
• Tips to try tonight
• Next steps

Why can't I go to bed on time?

If you struggle to go to bed on time even when you’re tired, you’re not alone.

This habit of overshooting your bedtime for no good reason is commonly called bedtime procrastination.

It’s a big part of the reason many of us are sleeping less than previous generations did. In an interview, Dr Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep said: 

“Back in the 1940s people were sleeping on average just a little bit over eight hours a night, and now in the modern age we’re down to around 6.7, 6.8 hours a night”.

Here are six common issues:

1. Self-regulation: As the day progresses, our ability to self-regulate declines. If you want to do anything that requires willpower (think exercising, practising piano, studying etc) it’s more likely to happen if you aim to do it first-thing.
   
   But, going to bed, of course, happens right at the end of the day when our self-regulation is wobbly at best. Research also suggests that if we’ve had to be disciplined all day, we’re more likely to struggle with self-regulation when the evening rolls round.
   
   
2. Chronotype: There’s no denying that some people are night owls, wired to go to bed and wake up late. Unfortunately, for many of us who work 9-5 or need to get children to school on time etc, having a later schedule just isn’t an option. Instead we end up sleeping too little. 
   
   
3. Reward: Going to bed late can provide lots of little psychological rewards that keep us doing it, even if it scuppers us the next day.
   
   
4. Habit: Lots of bedtime procrastinators have been going to bed late since they were teenagers; it’s an ingrained automatic habit that no longer serves us but can feel oddly inescapable.
   
   
5. Sleep hygiene: The term ‘sleep hygiene’ describes all the things we do throughout the day that help or hinder our ability to go to bed on time. This includes:

• Caffeine intake (how much and when)
• Naps (how long and when)
• Light exposure throughout the day, and particularly blue light from screens in the evening
• Scrolling social media near bedtime (unfortunately, all those late-night dopamine, adrenaline and cortisol hits aren't conducive to feeling sleepy).
  

Going to bed early: benefits

Learning how to go to bed earlier can improve physical and mental wellbeing. If you're not currently getting enough sleep, even shifting your bedtime by half an hour can have a big impact.

Here are five great examples of how going to bed on time helps you discover the real, untired you. 

Energy boost: Sleep replenishes our energy stores and washes away adenosine, the chemical that builds up whenever we’re awake, making us feel sleepy.
Reduced stress: When we’re well-slept, we’re less likely to stress about the little things.
Improved memory: Each stage of the sleep cycle is important for the processing and storage of memories – particularly important if you're trying to learn anything new.
Better decision-making: Going to bed on time improves the way we make decisions, especially if those decisions are complicated. 
Greater self-regulation: Whether you want to get that piece of work done, study, exercise, meditate, eat healthily or do anything else that requires willpower, sleep helps make it happen (and yes, it can even help you go to bed earlier!).

Tips to try tonight

Ready to do something different? Here are five tips to go to bed earlier that you can try tonight:

1. Look for data: How is your sleep deprivation actually affecting you? Does it change how you speak to people? What about how you approach work or life in general? Tuning into your own experience can be a powerful motivator.
   
2. Set an alarm: Do you lose track of time in the evenings? Setting a bedtime alarm can help.
3. Write a plan: Give your willpower a helping hand by creating a quick plan for what to do in the evenings.
4. Create the right conditions: This is where sleep hygiene comes in: help yourself to feel sleepy at the right time by reducing caffeine after 11am, cutting late-afternoon naps and lowering the lights in the evenings.
5. Curate your entertainment: Think about the impact on sleepiness when you choose what to watch, scroll or read close to bedtime. Make sure it’s not difficult to turn off or put down.
   

How the Untired Me programme can help

If you’re always thinking about how to go to bed earlier but you're struggling to make it happen, the structured Untired Me programme might just be the solution. (And you don't even have to go to bed at the same time every night!)

Created by an ex-bedtime procrastinator, the programme helps you to tune into your current bedtime procrastination habit and create a new bedtime routine step by step

The programme includes an online course, downloadable coursebook and a free monthly newsletter to help you stay on track.

What's next?

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