How to fix groggy Monday Mornings.
2 easy-to-fix pre-bed mistakes I did this weekend.
Monday.
I woke up a little bit before 4.30 AM. That’s my regular waking time, I’m an extreme lark.
I’m in a hotel, in Merida, Mexico, Yucatan. Today I have a US consulate visa appointment and that’s why I’m here. I woke up as usual — fresh, ready to go. I slept well. I started writing this newsletter after a few of my usual morning rituals — hyperventilation breathing, a few fast exercises, water, brushing my teeth — to wake up my body and brain.
The night before wasn’t that smooth though. I arrived on Saturday by bus, a bit latish for me, lots of bright light around, dinner later than usual — and no surprise here — it took me quite some time to fall asleep. My sleep wasn’t that deep, I woke up a few times in the middle of the night, and in the morning I slept an hour more, and still didn’t feel as good as usual — it took me some time to get going.
Familiar situation?
Here’s how many of you hard-working, ambitious, well-meaning professionals and entrepreneurs, in-office, remote and digital nomads steal a lot of your own productivity during the day — by not knowing how to set up your sleep environment for a great night of sleep!
And it doesn’t require a lot! Take care of light, coffee and dinner.
LIGHT
It’s very important to expose yourself to natural light outside (VS behind a window) as close to your waking time (and ideally sunrise) as possible for 20 minutes or so — walk to work, walk your dog, do a call to your mom, take your kids to school, grab some coffee and get those steps in too. That will start your internal clocks properly to set up your waking and going to sleep times.
Equally as important, actually more important for falling asleep — avoiding ALL the bright light in the evening, not just your devices (that should use some sort of night shift mode to switch light and colors for the ones that are friendlier for sleep).
I arrived late, walked through a brightly lit bus station, didn’t have blue light blocking glasses on me, hotel lobby was brightly lit too, and it took me a while to figure out which lights in my room were of the right intensity to not interfere with my circadian rhythms. That was the first issue that caused my sleep problems that night.
QUESTIONS: Do you do grocery shopping less than 3 hours before bed? Even if it takes just 5 minutes? Do you have bright lights in the shower? Toilet room? Do you walk through brightly lit hallways, use brightly lit elevators? How is the lighting in your apartment? More than 50 LUX? Do you watch TV at night and still haven’t switched your TV screen into the night mode setting for evening sessions?
That all is stealing the quality of your sleep, your fresh mornings, and a lot of productive time that takes your brain to get going. It also might deliver a “gift” of sleepy afternoons and overall cranky, unmotivated moods.
SOLUTION: Be mindful about lights, use blue-light blocking glasses (plenty to find on Amazon) when outside, or when you can’t switch light intensity in your house (I highly recommend purchasing some dim lamps and putting them in a few places around your house as a fast-to-install solution). And don’t forget to switch the settings on all of your devices to change the colors and brightness for the night shift.
DINNER
My second silly oversight (should have had food on the bus) — was later dinner, an hour before my bedtime. It wasn’t a lot, some sardines, avocado, some tomatoes and carrots, but it was an additional boost to my wakefulness, a boost that I didn’t need before bed.
Food and eating times, after light, are the most potent signal for our brain and body to stay awake. Our life literally depends on our food, and when we eat, it signals the brain that it’s time to be awake for nourishment VS sleep. All the systems ramp up to get the food, eat the food, and process nutrients. On top of that, our blood sugar levels and other metabolic processes are suboptimal for sleep, and on top of bright light exposure — it’s a guarantee of much longer falling asleep time, more wake-ups, poor quality of sleep, and as a result groggy mornings and not so productive days!
QUESTIONS: How often do you get your last meal 3h before bed consistently? Did you know that switching your time 2–3 hours forward is similar to giving yourself a bit of a jet lag?
SOLUTION: Have mealtime 3h or earlier before bed and stick with it, except for very rare, once-in-a-blue-moon occasions. Once you commit to it — it’s much easier than you think, and it’s definitely worth your productive days and sunshine-mood mornings!
COFFEE
What about caffeine?
It changes (not for the better) the architecture and quality of our sleep. The effects are especially pronounced when you consume anything with caffeine (not just coffee) closer to your bedtime. Sleep scientists recommend cutting off your caffeine 10–12 hours before bed.
I aced that one — my last cup of coffee on my traveling day was exactly 12 hours!
My dear high performers, who also change locations often — take care of your light habits, food and caffeine timing (and alcohol actually) — and you’ll see your productivity rising with the first rays of Monday morning sun!
Still have questions? Reach out! My Instagram @1000yearyoung is especially good for it, or angela@brainbreakthroughcoach.com email.
🙂THANK YOU FOR READING! DO GREAT THINGS.
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