Do you have a place in your home specifically set aside for rest? A corner of your dorm, a room in your house, a pile of blankets and pillows?
It can be difficult to set aside space specifically for rest and relaxation, especially when living in a small space. Dorm, apartment, house with other humans, whatever your living situation may be, it seems like we can always find a spot to stash more stuff in a storage room, closet, corner, drawer, yet setting aside a space for rest seems superfluous, a luxury you just don’t have right now. It feels like you already have no room to breathe when your coffeemaker is stashed on your dresser which doubles as your bookshelves because your desk can’t hold your textbooks and… let’s just say, I feel for you.
It is so worth it. People are finding more and more frequently that sleep is best when you leave your bed just for sleep (and maybe sex). Bringing food, electronics, and work into bed changes the way you think about it, and makes it easier to be distracted when you are actually trying to sleep there. Keeping mental stimulants in that space for sleep can keep you up, with the most popular offenders being smartphones and television. I’ve been getting an hour more of sleep per night since I stopped working in my bed, because I no longer lay awake for hours on end. I’m not wondering what’s going on online, or whether I have homework still, or what might be on TV. I’m in bed, it’s time for sleep.
Depending on your living situation, maybe all you’ve got is a bed and a floor — but you can still have some little signal that it’s time for sleep and nothing else. Maybe you only get under your quilt when it’s time to sleep, or sit up whenever you’re working in bed, or diffuse a certain oil blend when you’re ready to pass out (the last one is my favorite). Whatever you have available to use, use it to your advantage, and make it a habit to try to stay out of bed (or upright, or whatever) until you’re ready to sleep, so your rest can be the best.
signedsarah.wordpress.com 