Last July, I had written a post on how I track my daily habits. One of the habits I started to practice is "No screen usage after 8:30PM". It's been more than a year now and for most days, I managed to stick to this habit. Yes, there were days when I mindlessly scrolled through Instagram or watched random Youtube videos but such nights were fewer. What I have observed during those nights is that I could literally feel my eyes flickering for a few minutes before I could sleep. Have you felt that sensation?
I don't watch much of TV/Netflix/Prime. The main reason being I hardly find content that I like to watch. Most of the content that comes up is too dark, violent, explicit which makes me squirm and feel uncomfortable. On those rare nights when I watch a movie until midnight, my sleep cycle gets quite disturbed and the next day morning routine goes for a toss.
My only screen dependency is my phone and thanks to the cut-off habit, I have stopped my usage post 8:30PM. This gives me a quiet winding time of 90 minutes where I play with my daughter, read a book, write in my journal or simply stare at the ceiling.
Having an early dinner has so many positive effects - it gives enough time for our body to digest food and helps us get better sleep. It is hard to sleep with a tummy full of food.
Similarly, it is hard to sleep with a mind full of thoughts.
My suggestion - Figure out a time when you would stop using all your devices, at least an hour before sleep. Set a daily habit to track the same. Good sleep, a peaceful mind, fresh mornings guaranteed!
Now that I have unsubscribed from many Youtube channels and have become more mindful of my Instagram usage, I plan to bring down the cutoff time to 7:00PM. Will share my progress soon.
P.S. I do use Kindle during my reading time at nights but not as much as I used to.
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