caedmyn Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I really, really need to start going to bed at 9:30 most nights. However, this has been an aspiration of mine for about six years, and actually happens about once a month, so clearly I need to make some changes to the way I go about trying to get to bed earlier. I am just not an on-time person in general, so that might be part of it. Usually it is between 10:15 & 10:30 by the time I get to bed, so I need to cut close to an hour off my evening. So...what helps you get to bed earlier, or at the time you want to get to bed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I don’t stay up because I know how early my 3yo will get me up in the morning. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Moving everything else up. Supper time, for example. Tidying before supper instead of after. Getting the kids to bed earlier. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 After dinner we clean the kitchen and do everything else that needs to be done. Only then do we relax. When it’s bedtime we feed the cat and go to bed. Are there any things you’re doing after dinner that can be done earlier in the day? For instance, we shower in the morning instead of night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Actually working out how long my bedtime routines take and working back from there. I now head to the bedroom area before 9.30 to get to bed by 10.40. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 I have an alarm that goes off on my phone at 8:10. I am supposed to have the little kids all off to bed by 8 (bath, meds, teeth etc are all done before then). This works only because I have planned out meals, tried to keep our evenings clear, done all of the chores earlier, etc. I HAVE to prioritize sleep or I have health issues. Inevitably things pop up, but because I am dealing with them at 8 rather than 9, I am usually in bed at a decent hour. If the older kids have late evening events, dh is the designated driver and kid shuffler. His body copes with it better. If I could go back, I would have implemented this in 2002 rather than 2012. The sleep deprivation from pregnancy/nursing/etc for a decade straight really messed me up with autoimmune issues. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted January 2, 2020 Share Posted January 2, 2020 Ignoring my now-night-owl young teens sometimes so that I can be mentally settled enough to go to sleep. Can't always do that bc they are up and chatty and I need to be present to listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I don’t sit on the couch for very long after supper until I’m in my pjs, contacts out, teeth brushed. So many times I get too tired to get up and get ready for bed so I just sit there stalling. So when I’m totally ready I can just head to bed with no fuss. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, happysmileylady said: Why do you want to go to bed at 9:30? Knowing why might help get some more specific advice. Health issues, mostly adrenal fatigue. I need 8 hrs of sleep but my 18 mo wakes at least once a night plus gets up for the day around 6 most days (DH gets up with him in the morning some of the time). Also I have insomnia off and on and am periodically awake for an hour or two in the early morning, or don't sleep soundly after, say, 2 am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 If you were your own child, and as a parent, you wanted this child to go to be earlier, what would you say (or do) to help them? Sometimes looking from the outside in, helps to see the problem more clearly. Write out your schedule and put asterisks next to the items that are non-negotiable and a circle next to preferred items, and nothing beside the things that are voluntary. See if you can rearrange your night so more of the essentials are earlier, so you aren't stuck at the end of the night with things you have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeppermintPattie Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 What helps me get to bed early is if I have something there to look forward to, like a good book! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 What are the specific things that are prolonging your bedtime now? Is it chores? Kids staying up? Spouse staying up? Or is it insomnia, itself? I have just about zero issues getting to sleep. It’s the staying asleep past 3am that I struggle with. (Or staying awake later, when needed!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
appyonthebeach Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I lay down in bed at 830-9 and read. I'm usually falling asleep while reading within 20 minutes. I get up at 530 am though. so that helps, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Get up early, it is hard to stay up too late when you are really tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
May Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I always get up between 6:15-6:30am. Our dog is a get alarm clock😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) Getting up at 6:30 (or earlier if I wake up) every day. I am tired in the evening, so I make sleep a priority. Nothing is more important in the evening that me going to bed. Anything else can wait. I much rather get up earlier to deal with stuff at 6am when I am rested, than stay up when I am tired. What keeps you from just going to bed at your desired time? Knowing this might help. Edited January 3, 2020 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I don't. I have trouble sleeping every few nights so I try to get ahead on chores then, and the next night I do the bare minimum to make life do-able in the morning and go to bed early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I'm trying to get to bed earlier too. I live with a house full of night owls and sometimes don't even realize how late it is and don't get to bed until midnight or 1 am. I'd get started on some project or start surfing the internet and lose track of time. I've started going up to bed around 9:30 or 10 pm and allowing myself to read until no later than 11 pm. I set my Fitbit alarm to go off at 10 pm so I'm reminded if I haven't started upstairs to read. I've also started getting up as soon as I wake up instead of lying in bed and trying to go back to sleep. Earlier mornings and a new exercise routine has improved my sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 I try to bore myself to sleep. I stop using screens, although I do run a non-fiction audiobook on my phone. I lay with my headphones on, listening to non-fiction until I realize I'm not sure what's happening in the book. Then I press a button on my headphones that pauses the book, and I'm asleep. Reading a boring physical book would probably work as well, with lowish lighting if possible. We eat dinner at 6, and the kids have sort of stair step bedtimes so that the big ones are in bed by 9. But I'm relatively off duty starting at 7pm because DH does a whole big evening routine with the kids. So I can lazily do a bit of screen time, then switch off to brush teeth and start my audiobook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 By the way, I've found that turning off overhead lights and just and handful of lamps in the house helps everyone start to wind down. So when the kitchen closes, the lights are off except for maybe one dim one. One lamp burning in the living room...etc. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 I don't stress about getting everything cleaned up and organized for the next day. It seems counterintuitive but just putting the food away is enough for me. I get up and clean when I have energy. I am an empty nester, tho. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 An interesting thread as I have been struggling with this for a long time. I am naturally a night owl and have more energy in the evening compared to early morning. I am gone from home for 12 hours - commute time both ways and a full time work schedule - so there is little time to accomplish what I would like to do much less taking a breather. Once I get home I feel like things need to be done so I get all the "must do's" done and then I want a little down time which cuts into my sleep time. If I am done with all the chores by 9:30pm, I don't want to go to bed but now I want to look up an article, read the forum, research something, etc. I should be in bed by 10:30 but I am rarely there before 11pm and then I usually read a little but that time has been shortened because I fall asleep once horizontal. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 Btw, if baths and such make you run late, there’s no reason that can’t happen say while you’re cooking dinner or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caedmyn Posted January 6, 2020 Author Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) A big part of the problem is that my kids are just not normal in any area, including falling asleep. It takes all of them but the baby at least 30 mins to fall asleep every.single.night. Always has. Two pairs share rooms (2 rooms) and the younger one in each goes to bed at least half an hour before the older one...and most nights the older one ends up waiting even longer because the younger one still is awake. Then once the younger one falls asleep, it takes the older one ages to fall asleep, while they get out of bed and complain they can't fall asleep, or need a drink, or or or. Case in point: 3 yo went to bed at 8:20ish. It's now 9:40 and he's still chattering away. They have no toys in their bedrooms. Just ridiculous. Edited January 7, 2020 by caedmyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 On 1/3/2020 at 1:31 AM, PeppermintPattie said: What helps me get to bed early is if I have something there to look forward to, like a good book! I thought that would help me too but then I stay up waaaay too late reading it 😞 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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