Kaylie’s Sleep Routine
🆂🅻🅴🅴🅿!
What is that?
As a business owner… I feel like sleep has been hard to come by.
I know that is probably just me… And how I have chosen to handle things.
But it is my current reality. And it is something that I am working on changing.
I have to do it with baby steps though, and be very patient with myself along the way.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆?
Let’s start with the morning… I used to wake up at 4am… But that has changed.
I now wake up between 5-6am, depending on when I went to sleep, and what I have to do for the day.
My morning routine consists of coffee, reading and journaling. After that my schedule varies…
Sometimes I get right to baking, other times I will have more coffee (still the initial pot I made) and answer some emails.
Then I normally have errands to run… Grocery shopping, deliver cookies, stop by the post office.
And some days I have fun things like jiu jitsu or a walk with a friend.
Baking, cleaning, laundry, etc… Is sprinkled in there.
Then around 5pm, I show up to my gym to get some training in. I do my best to be out of there before 8pm. That way I can get home, eat, shower, and be in bed by 10pm!
And then start it all over the next day.
𝔼𝕒𝕔𝕙 𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕤𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕒𝕣, 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕕𝕚𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟𝕥.
I seriously couldn’t be more thankful to have the life that I have. I literally do what I love each and every day!!! But, there is always room for improvement.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒎 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆?
1. I started to educate myself on sleep. I have been listening to Professor Andrew Huberman’s new podcast, as well as interviews he has done on other people’s podcasts. I have also been reading The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington. It truly is insane how important sleep is for the mind and body… Yet most of the time, sleep is the first thing that we sacrifice when we are short on time.
2. I am drinking less caffeine. Caffeine is NOT bad for you… But it can/most likely will hinder your sleep if you consume it too late in the day. And so many people do nowadays. That midday coffee, or late night pre-workout… EEK! Caffeine has a half-life of about 5 hours. So I have been really only having coffee first thing in the morning… And if I want another coffee later, then I make sure it is decaf (I know, it isn’t as good! But it does suffice my craving).
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘢𝘺? Like I mentioned above, most would have coffee or an energy drink… Including the old me (sometimes still)… But now I try to make time for a nap, Yoga Nidra, meditation, or stretching. If I don’t have time for one of those… Then I will drink some 🅰🆂🅲🅴🅽🅳!
3. I am setting a work cutoff time. As I have gotten busier with work (yay for growth!) I have found myself working/baking until 9-10pm at night. But that just isn’t maintainable for my wellbeing, which means it isn’t going to be good for business in the long run. I now do what I can throughout the day, and start to clean/wrap up work stuff around 7 or 8pm. That way I have time to relax and decompress before going to bed.
𝕄𝕪 𝕟𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕖:
After work has been wrapped up. I like to eat my protein pudding (https://www.instagram.com/tv/CFBYNd3Dl8A/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), with a side of 🆁🅴🆂🆃🅾🆁🅰🆃🅸🅾🅽! I like to mix Calm and Metamucil in with it. While I eat/drink that… I will normally watch part of one of my shows. I am currently catching alternating between Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and The Good Doctor.
Between 9 and 10pm.. I will turn everything off, brush my teeth, and climb in bed.
Then I will turn on a Guided Sleep Meditation in the app Sanity and Self (https://www.sanityandself.com). I found this app in October 2020. It has so many great lessons/meditations. It is a subscription app, but I think it is totally worth it!!!
I found that I fall asleep so much faster when I am listening to a meditation! It is so calming, and because it is guided… I helps me not think about everything I need to do the next day.
𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴… 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸.
4. Last, but not least.. I set my alarm for 7 hours from the time I get in bed (this varies depending on what I need to do the next day.. Sometimes it will be 6 hours or 8 hours). This is a big, and new one for me!!! I’m so used to waking up at 4am, not matter what time I go to bed. But after only getting an average of 4-5 hours of sleep for a few months in a row… I knew I needed to make changes! I started to notice that my memory was getting really bad. And I was having a really hard time comprehending what I was trying to learn.
“Sleep involves a range of complex functions associated with memory, our ability to learn, brain development and cleaning, appetite, immune function, and aging. And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what it does for our mood, our well-being, our creativity, and our relationships.” -Quote from The Sleep Revolution by Arianna Huffington
Stay tuned for my next blog… It will focus more on recovery and how to listen to your body (within reason).