This article is part of Upstream, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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I lay awake, mind racing, stressed about everything at once and yet nothing in particular. For years, through college, grad school, and early career, this was normal no matter how tired I was. The constant sleep advice—avoid screens, get to bed earlier, go to bed at the same time every night—never stuck long, especially the part about screens. I’m part of the laptop class by day, by night I freelance write, and sometimes at the end of a long day, after catching up on texts and group chats, I want to unwind by watching YouTube recipe tips. The damage is an embarrassing amount of screen time. And I know I’m not alone.
Today, I’m not proud to say that my screen time hasn’t changed. But my sleep habits have, and I’m falling asleep peacefully in minutes. Here are the six tips I learned along the way.
Buy blue light-blocking glasses ASAP. For years, I lived by the “night light” mode on my phone and computer. The orange tinge was easier on the eyes, but I still lay awake anxious after putting away the comforting glow of my screens late at night. Then, last year, I finally bought a pair of high-quality blue light-blocking glasses. I’d heard mixed things about the benefits of blue-blockers, and the consensus seemed to be that not all are created equal. The pair I ultimately bought claims to block 100% of blue light, and whether or not that is true, the glasses do truly work miracles. In the hours before bed, the orange-colored lenses color everything in a sunset-like hue, and even in the harsh daylight glow of the too-close laptop screen, my body is in twilight mode.
Find a way to be tired. I’ve thrown away all the advice about the benefits of an early-morning workout and a slow wind down in the evenings. Instead, the evenings are when I burn off all my nervous energy from sitting at a desk all day. The short-lived buzz of a social event or the adrenaline after a good workout are, for me, the perfect spike then crash to slide into the end of the day.
Turn on the incandescents. The saga of the incandescent bulb is an ongoing one. They’re banned under one government administration and legal the next, so most of us have switched to LED bulbs. They’re energy efficient and last much longer than incandescents, but frankly they’re just ugly. The light they put off is cold and clinical, the sort of shade you expect in a hospital, no matter the supposed “warm” shade of the LED.
In search of a small light for the evenings, I plugged in an old lamp—old enough that it still had a tiny incandescent bulb that had survived the changing electrical winds. It was the perfect light for some reading or typing before bed. But the unexpected benefit is that the incandescent bulb casts a calming, warm glow that no LED can compete with. And it’s not just aesthetics: Some health experts think LEDS can impair mitochondrial (cell) health and suppress production of melatonin (the sleep hormone).
Even though incandescent bulbs are legal again, they’re not easy to find. You’ll have to search them out specifically and likely order them online. However, appliance bulbs (for your oven or microwave) are often incandescent and are still readily available at your local hardware store. Just be sure to check the wattage of whatever light you use most before bed.
Practice a routine, however short. Watching the evening routines of online personalities makes each bedtime seem as though it needs to be a full hour of skin care, reading, and unwinding. In reality, a routine can be as simple as reciting a prayer once your head hits the pillow, flipping through a few pages of a book, or putting on some white noise. Having a recurring routine each night—for me, it’s a prayer—has become a signal that it’s time to shut off the day. It’s not complicated or time-consuming. It’s recentering my relationship with God and succumbing to the peace of a familiar rhythm.
Don’t apologize for prioritizing sleep. If your bedroom gets blasted by sun hours before you need to wake up, buy blackout curtains. If, like me, you find the full moon to be a bright monthly nuisance, use an eye mask to block it out. If you have noisy neighbors, run a fan or sound machine. Whatever the problem is, don’t fret or apologize for trying to solve it. You’re not a sensitive or light sleeper just for needing a quiet, dark, or comfortable place to rest. You don’t need to power through disruptions to your sleep; there’s no medal for doing so. Just find what you need to be relaxed while you fall asleep.
Give yourself permission. At the end of every day, I have lofty goals. I think I can work on my sewing projects, take a long bath, read half a novel, flip through a cookbook, and still get to bed early. Instead, at the end of a particularly busy day, I’m lucky if I get through two pages of my latest read. Then, I lie awake feeling guilty that I didn’t get enough done or, worse, watched YouTube instead of reading. The next morning, I’m tired, and it spirals into another too-full day. Breaking the cycle simply means giving myself permission to let go of grand plans. Sometimes, scrolling or binging the latest show is the most appealing thing at the end of a long day. Sure, we can do our best to have better habits, but when it happens, stressing about it is only going to keep you up at night. Live your life, and don’t stress the little things.
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Jordan Jantz is the assistant editor at IW Features as well as a freelance writer, editor, and website designer.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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