⏱ The Best Minute: Better sleep, being decisive, and habit math
💡 1 IDEA FROM ME
Struggle to sleep? Here is what has massively helped me.
Ever since college, I have struggled to get good sleep. I both take a long time to fall asleep and wake up multiple times a night. This year, however, I have seen a drastic improvement in my sleep stemming from some new habits I have created. If you are looking to get better sleep, here are 3 things I have done and seen big results:
1) I go to bed and get up at the same time during the week. There are some exceptions to this (like if a favorite team of mine has a later game I want to watch), but they are rare. A consistent sleep schedule helps train your body to get ready for bed. And having a firm habit of when I go to bed helps ensure I am getting to bed on time.
2) I turn off my phone by 9:15 on weeknights. Not only is my phone not in my room at all at night (which I have done for a while), but turning it off at night eliminates massive amounts of wasted time scrolling on my phone which delays getting ready for and going to bed. Yes, I can still access whatever I want on my computer, but I find I am more apt at getting off my computer than my phone. I use my Apple watch and a digital alarm clock to wake up in the morning.
3) I read for about 30-45 minutes before bed every night. Reading in a dark room, either in a chair or in my bed, helps me tire and fall asleep. While reading physical books is better than reading on a screen in terms of falling asleep, I have found both reading from a physical book or my iPad (on Night Shift mode) both make me feel sleepy. Thus, I fall asleep faster. I don’t think this would be the case if I only read some nights before going to bed. Consistency here is key. Not only do I enjoy reading, but laying in bed without reading does not, for whatever reason, cause me to become sleepy like reading a book does.
So there you have it. If you struggle to sleep, here is what I have found helpful:
Got to bed and get up at the same consistent time
Turn off your phone at night at a consistent time
Read every night for a bit before trying to fall asleep
💬 2 QUOTES FROM OTHERS
I. Richard Koch on the importance of being decisive:
“Being mostly correct and decisive typically yields better results than taking the time to figure out what is perfectly correct.”
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II. Benjamin Franklin on the math of your habits:
“Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.”
🎙 THIS WEEK ON THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP PODCAST
Corey Alley on leading a church planting movement, how to gather existing churches around church plants, and how to make friends with people at your church.
Click here to listen to the podcast on your favorite app and get the show notes for this episode.
💯 1 Resource I Recommend
Discover the guiding principles of extraordinary individuals and unlock the wisdom of legends, with Principles Friday—a weekly dose of inspiration from iconic minds, such as Michael Jordan, Nelson Mandela, Jeff Bezos, and other famous people.
🤯 1 INTERESTING FACT
There are approximately 10,000 taste buds in our mouth, of which most are located on the tongue
Taste buds are replaced every two weeks, although as you age some of the taste buds will not get replaced. An older person may have only 5,000 working taste buds. That’s why some foods may taste stranger to children than they do to adults. Smoking can also reduce the number of taste buds a person has.
Source: Dental Practice
🤔 1 QUESTION TO LEAVE YOU WITH
What is one small thing you could do that would make going to bed easier?
