How to Create a Better Sleep Routine

I’m proud to be working with CVS Pharmacy for this sponsored post, and all opinions reflected of the brand, products and/or services highlighted are my own.

I think most of us would say we need a few more zzzs each night. Unfortunately, busy schedules and bad habits often get in the way of making it a reality. It’s easy to forget that sleep is a critical element of self-care, and it’s something I haven’t been prioritizing enough lately.

This month, I’m partnering with CVS Pharmacy to kick off a month-long sleep challenge to improve my quality of sleep. With Sleep Awareness Week (3/8-3/14) and Daylight Savings Time (3/8) in March, now is the perfect time to make restful sleep part of your daily self-care routine.

Over the next month, my plan is to tweak my evening habits and bedtime routine to make my sleep a little more…regular. You see, I’m the kind of person who can go to bed at 10 pm one night and stay up until 2 am the next. If you’re a creative person with tons of ideas, I’m sure you can relate to getting inspiration at the most inopportune times (aka right before you need to go to bed).

I always say I love to sleep, but my actions don’t tend to match up with my words. I know there are people who treat their bedtime like the most important appointment on their calendar, but I haven’t been one of those people in a long time. I remember a time in college when I would turn my lights out at 10 pm sharp, but I’m not sure where that Catherine went. Let’s hope I can get her back after this challenge!

If your goal is to get a few more zzzs each night, keep reading to learn about the habits I’m going to change to my sleep routine this month!

Why I’m Prioritizing More Sleep

Sleep is such an important foundation for health, and it can affect everything from your physical health, mood, stress, cognitive function, energy, and mental wellbeing.

My ultimate goal for this sleep challenge with CVS is to be more disciplined around the time I go to bed. Discipline doesn’t sound like much fun (which is why most of us don’t have it), but I need regularity around the time I go to bed. Otherwise, I’ll never get my recommended 7-8 hours of sleep each night. That means I need to stick to some kind of schedule.

Now, it’s all well and good to say I’m going to create a routine and follow it, but we all know it’s not that simple. I know myself well enough to realize that the only way I can stick to something is if there’s a clear reason behind it. I’m motivated by reason (I’m a Questioner based on Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies), so there needs to be a clear purpose for me to want to do something.

One of the most important things for me is to have mental clarity because it means I can be more creative and less overwhelmed throughout the day. Now, I know that when I turn off electronics within a reasonable time before going to bed, I get much better sleep and wake up with a clearer mind. I didn’t bring my laptop with me when I went to Victoria, BC last month, and I found it so much easier to fall asleep at night and wake up early.

If I can remind myself of how good I felt when I went to bed earlier without the distractions of electronics, I’ll be more motivated to keep up with this challenge.

How I’m Creating A Better Sleep Routine

Now that I have my motivation and a clear purpose behind getting more sleep, here are three ways I’m creating a better sleep routine this month:

1. Close my laptop at 9:00

I have a tendency to get sucked into things on my computer before bed, so I want to set a firm boundary around when I’ll get offline. I’ll also set an alarm as a reminder to keep me on track.

2. Create a “chill-out” routine

It’s important to give yourself some time to relax before actually heading to bed. Rather than going straight from working to sleeping, I plan to incorporate some of my favorite things into my new routine. That includes warming up my Warmies Slippers and sipping on this Natural Vitality Calm Supplement drink while eating a Good Day Chocolate supplement with Melatonin. I also find this Calm Sleep Mist Pillow Spray and the Good Nite Essential Oil Roll On helps me relax before bed.

3. Lights out at 10:30

I want to read for at least 15 minutes before bed rather than calling it quits after a few pages. That means I need to be in bed and reading by 10:15. Once 10:30 rolls around, I should be totally relaxed from my chill-out routine and ready to hit the hay.

What helps you get a night of restful sleep?

I encourage you to think about your own sleep routine and how you can challenge yourself to get more sleep. It’s all about taking small but impactful small steps to change up your sleep routine. At the end of this month, I’ll be recapping my journey to better sleep and share any changes I’ve noticed. Comment with any tips you have for getting more sleep and learn more about CVS’s self-care products mentioned in this post here! #DontSleepOnSelfCare #DiscoverCVS #CVSPartner