By: Katie Verburg
Katie Verburg has a degree in Exercise Physiology and Holistic Health, is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer, a Certified Health Coach, and has been in the fitness industry for a decade. Here, she writes about why setting an early bedtime should be on everyone’s to-do list.
Think back to when your typical evening routine was comprised of homework, playing outside, dinner, bath and bedtime by 9 p.m. Most children had a similar evening routine. As one gets older, the habits that were once enforced by parents slowly start to fade away. It’s rare to find a 20-something who has enough time every night to take a bubble bath and is in bed before 10 p.m.
But maybe parents had it right all along. Turns out, having a set bedtime is actually something that benefits individuals not only for the evening but also the full day ahead. Here’s why.
3 Reasons Why You Need an Early Bedtime
It Gives Your Brain a Break
Majority of people are overworked daily. Even though the 8-hour workday comes to an end, the work doesn’t actually end there. The brain continues to be challenged in different ways, from driving through rush hour traffic to mindlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed and checking work emails. Setting an early bedtime allows time to turn off your brain before shutting your eyes for the night. Doing so will allow the body to fall asleep faster, instead of working up until the lights go out. A sleep drink may also help, with ingredients like GABA for sleep and liquid melatonin.
It Creates Healthy Habits
Setting a reasonable bedtime allows for some “me time” in your schedule. A few ideas on how to spend that time: a relaxing bath or longer shower, a 10-minute meditation session, listening to soothing music, drinking chamomile tea (bonus points if you’re adding Watermelon Mint Beauty Collagen to your mug!), writing in your journal or reading a good book. The more often this happens during the week, the more it starts to become a habit.
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It Improves Your Tomorrow
Packing a gym bag the night before, setting clothes out for work, packing lunch and setting out that water bottle or Collagen Peptides for your morning coffee are prime examples of this. Preparing for the day ahead the night before not only helps the morning run smoother, but it also relaxes the brain instead of allowing for “what still needs to be done?” thoughts to run through your mind right before bed.
The average adult needs somewhere between 8-9 hours of restful sleep each night. Many aren’t achieving this or numbers remotely close to this. Setting a bedtime is crucial for catching enough Zzz’s. There’s even an alarm on the iPhone that alerts the user when it’s “time for bed.” Sleep is so very important for the brain, body and overall health. Unfortunately, getting enough sleep is one of the things that gets overlooked the most. Not only will setting the same bedtime each night help improve sleep and the amount of sleep one gets each night, it will also assist in improving overall wellness.