My Schedule And Sleep

Hi my dear readers! I hope you are enjoying your day no matter where you are! :-)

Here is the link to my today's video: My Schedule And Sleep.

I've been so happy lately. And part of my happiness is generated by a good sleep. I think everyone know how important sleep is for well-being. But in the past I used to have problems with it. Sometimes I tried to go to bed earlier, but wasn't able to fall asleep, or I used to wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep. In the darkness of my bedroom I was thinking about something sad and negative. I could have a wonderful day full of laughter and fun adventures and then I would go to bed and cry. And I had this bedroom crying habit for a while. Now it is gone, I sleep like a baby, almost never wake up in the middle of the night and my bedroom is not a torture room for me anymore, it is actually my favorite place that I enjoy.

In order to get a good sleep I had to adjust my schedule. Because it is not just about the way you spend your evening, your whole day counts. For example, it helps a lot to look at natural light within two hours after sunrise. It helps to regulate circadian rhythm and wake up your body and brain. It gives your body an idea of when to be awake and productive and when to be sleepy. So if you wake up and go to bed everyday more or less at the same time, you sleep much better.

So I wake up around 5 AM. I have a strict rule that I should get out of bed within 10 minutes after I woke up, I don't hang out in my bedroom for hours, ha-ha. While I am getting ready for a walk, washing my face, brushing my teeth, putting on my clothes, I listen to French class on DuoLingo app. I love it so much! Then I turn on one of the podcasts that I like, for example, I really enjoy listening to "Impact Theory". And I go for a walk to the lake and listen to some inspirational interview.

When I get back from my walk I meditate for 5 minutes. I prefer to have a short meditation rather than to have no meditation.

Then I do 30 minutes workout. On weekdays I try to do cardio, HIIT or strength exercises. And on weekends I do Pilates or Yoga. My favorite workout channel is GymRa. I also love walking-dancing cardio workouts at "Reps to the Rhythm" channel, so fun! For yoga I like "Yoga With Adriene" and I also love Jane Fonda workouts, she is so inspiring!

After workout I take a shower and I am ready for work!

I have my first meal after 10 AM, never before. I like to have rules about food, because they help to train my brain and be more disciplined in general.

I have lunch at 1 PM or 2 PM, sometimes 3 PM.

I usually work till 5 PM. I am working from home, so I don't have to commute. After I log off, I have my "Me Time", when I can study, I can go to the park and read a book, I can sew, or I just do some cleaning. I enjoy all these activities, they clean my brain, ha-ha.

Then I take a shower and by 7 PM I am ready for dinner. I never eat after 8 PM. This way I always have 14 hours break between my meals.

At 8 PM I do my journaling. I have multiple journals and habit trackers, I am taking notes of how I spent my date, what I am thankful for, what I learned, what I need to improve, etc.

After journaling time I turn off the light and light up the candles in my bedroom, living room and bathroom. And I take care of my face. I have several skincare products. I listen to some relaxing jazz music (my favorite is Night Paris Jazz), massage my face and enjoy the moment!

After that I say a little prayer, which is mostly thanks to God for everything He does for me. And then I look at the window and notice the sky, how does it look at this particular night. It helps me to get back to present moment. I like to say "goodnight sky" before I go to bed :-) It's just a cute habit.

I try to be in bed around 9:30 PM. I turn on my sleep tracker and Yoga Nidra meditation. I find this particular meditation very helpful. I even use it sometimes during the day when I want to take a nap.

On weekends I have more or less the same schedule. But instead of work I meet up with my friends on Saturdays and on Sundays I study, sew, or do cleaning.

I love my schedule and I love to sleep well!

If you want to learn more about sleep, I highly recommend to listen to Andrew Huberman podcast. He has series of episodes dedicated to sleep on his YouTube Channel.

I can say that good sleep changed my life. I think that self-care is very important. We should first of all focus on things that can help us to be healthier, not on chasing some floating external pleasures which might create troubles in future. Of course there are a lot of things we cannot control. Sometimes I have to work more than I want, or I can have problems with my hormones. But it doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to make our life easier by taking care of our schedule and habits.

I also wanted to say that being productive and organized doesn't mean to have a boring life. You can still spend time with your family and friends. And you will be happier and more present if you take care of simple sleeping habits.

This weekend I went to an awesome place with my friends. It is called Go Ape Adventure Park. I enjoyed it so much! We all had a lot of fun! I hope you will be able to find some fun healthy activities too!

Be Strong And Love Yourself!

From Dasha With Love!

Love Wins!