Bedtime rituals can make or break your success

The last few things you do before bed tend to have a significant impact on your mood and energy level the next day, as they often determine how well and how much you sleep.

Business Insider recommended these seven bedtime rituals that are hard to adopt but will pay off forever:

1. Disconnect from work

Allowing yourself a buffer period between your last ‘work’ (be it reading an email or answering a colleagues call) and the time you go to bed, can set the mood of your quality of sleep.

While developing this habit can prove tough, its pays off big time. It will help you go to bed feeling less stressed, and allow you to sleep with a clear, calm mind.

2. Unplug completely

Its not only work that you need to disconnect from, but a lot else too.  Researchers agree that any kind of screen time before bed does more harm than good.

The blue light from your phone mimics the brightness of the sun, which tells your brain to stop producing melatonin, an essential hormone that regulates your circadian rhythm and tells your body when it’s time to wake and when it’s time to sleep. This could lead not only to poor sleep, but also to vision problems, cancer, and depression.

Stop checking emails, scanning your social media and playing games on your phone before going to sleep.

3. Reflect

Following in Benjamin Franklin’s footsteps and asking yourself: “What good have I done today?”, has more benefits than expected.

Keeping a ‘gratitude journal’ reminds people of the progress they made that day in any aspect of their life, which in turn serves as a key way to stay motivated, especially when going through a challenging period.

4. Decompress

In addition to reflecting back on your day, take a few minutes to breathe, relax and decompress.

Meditation is one way to do this. It may be difficult to get into the routine of meditating before bed, but there are so many resources out there to help you get started.

5. Plan out your sleep

Highly successful people make it a priority to get enough sleep. This can be a challenge for workaholics or entrepreneurs.

One way to do that is to go to bed at a consistent time each evening, which is a key habit all sleep experts recommend.

6. Make a to-do list

Clearing the mind for a good night sleep is critical for people of success. Take this time to write down a list of any unattended items to address the following day, so these thoughts don’t end up plaguing your mind while you’re sleeping.

7. Give up the nightcap and unhealthy bedtime snacks

While alcohol can help you fall asleep, the National Institute of Health finds that it robs you of quality sleep. Alcohol keeps people in the lighter stages of sleep from which they can be awakened easily and prevents them from falling into deeper, more restorative stages of sleep.

You’ll also want to avoid caffeine and foods that are high in fat right before bed.

Check out Business Insider’s original article and more interesting must-reads

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