When do you wind down?

So I'm having a huge problem. I've always been a night owl but that is not. conducive. at. all. with the twin/little kid/early riser genes (inherited from DH!!!) lifestyle I'm running now. I really don't know HOW to go to bed early. (I'm writing this post at 12.43 am ). One of my biggest issues is needing time to wind down at night, after a loooong day with my kids. They are in bed, asleep by 7 pm, 8 the latest, and somehow I still find myself 'needing' 6 hours to de-stress, catch up on news, facebook, watch a show or two, clean up a little, chat with DH a bit, some night I still haven't eaten dinner yet...I go to bed about 130 am and it starts all over again the next day. Some nights I tell myself that TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT! and to get my butt in bed by 11 or 12 or whatever, but it never happens. I'm really struggling with this. I feel like I really need the down time/relaxation/me/quiet time. On the other hand, the few times I manage to get to bed early it feels so good--I'm not stressed about falling asleep, I lay in bed and read without worrying about the time. It's really nice, but not motivating enough to get me in bed. I'm functioning during the day, but physically, I'm completely exhausted, and I guess mentally too. It doesn't help that my girls are still waking up 1-2 times a night (between 12am and 7 am). Anyone been in the same boat? Have any tips or ideas? Thanks!!

 

I take a bath every night right after we put the kids to bed. DH cleans the kitchen and living room, I take my bath then we watch a show or 2. If I'm still tired at about 10p, I go to bed and either watch a show that makes me sleepy (I love Murder, She Wrote!) or read a relaxing book. I think it's a mental thing as about an hour before I go to bed I actively try to relax. Maybe some mediation would help??

 

I definitely had/have that same problem. One thing I've done is make sure I do as many of the chores/tidying/cleaning as humanly possible before the kids are in bed so that the time after they're in bed I can jump straight into "me" time. Just last night, I set up a lamp in the girls room with an automatic timer on it so that I can put them to bed a bit earlier but they can talk/read/color for another half hour before they actually have to go to sleep (they also need that wind down time before they can go to sleep). But it puts me into the "on-call" period of my day a bit sooner. So far it's working, but we've only done it the one night.

Last, but not least, in June I participated in a dieting game & one of the things you got points for in the game was being in bed for 7 hours every night (not necessarily sleeping as they make allowance for parents of newborns, people who struggle with insomnia, etc). Anyway, because I didn't want to let my team down I was motivated & disciplined enough to be in bed every night by 11:00pm. Doing that consistently for a month & reaping the benefits of it has made it much easier to keep up the habit. The difference in my mood & energy levels has been phenomenal.

 

I have always been a night owl. Lately I have been better, i think because I put the kids to bed so early (6-6:30) it starts my end of day routine early. Also, we want them up at 6:00 so we can have some family time before DH starts work... really hard for a night owl but so worth it!

I agree with the pp about getting most of clean-up done before the kids are down. I use my DH coming in (~7:30) as the clean up goal time (get it done before he is 'home'). not that he doesn't see the house trashed during the day.. he works from home

We rarely eat before 8:00 (I know, I know.. really bad for the diet) But my other goal is to get everything done before we eat. Then I INSIST that DH help clean up after the meal.

I read somewhere that looking at a computer screen just before trying to sleep is not good for inducing sleep. I think it is about the brightness, or type of light the screen puts out. Well, I love my computer just before bed, but I do turn the brightness down on the screen. AND I make a deal with myself.. get all my bedtime stuff done and then I can take the computer (or book) to bed. Somehow once i am in the bed it is easier to just put it aside and turn off the light.

PP said something about a light on a timer. That is a good idea also. I use to do that. I had a light in the living room where I usually settle for the night and I set the timer to turn it off at certain time. That was really effective since it was my reading light.. lol. My choices were climb behind the couch to reset the timer or go to bed.. I am lazy so, it always sent me off to bed!

Anyway, try setting small goals that will help move you toward bed.
It is hard to get motivated but so nice to wake up rested. Good Luck.

 

I will have to try some of this stuff, I really love the timer idea!! Thanks everyone, keep em coming!! I love success stories too!