Sleep Hygiene

A funny thing happens when you stop going into the office: time gets weird. Not time in the abstract, space-time-relativity kind of way, but in the deeply personal, why-is-it-2-a.m.-again kind of way.

Since leaving my usual routine, I’ve been going to bed later. And waking up later. And then going to bed even later. Eventually, I find myself drifting off at some ungodly hour of the night. It’s a slow slide, like erosion—barely noticeable until you’re standing at the edge of a cliff that used to be a gentle hill.

To be fair, I used to be a bit of a night owl. In college, I stayed up with friends until the late hours of the night, then stumbled through the next day powered mostly by caffeine and stubbornness. I guess old rhythms have a way of creeping back when no one’s watching the clock.

Lately, though, I’ve been trying something new. I sit and meditate for twenty minutes—sometimes successfully. Then I listen to an audiobook read in a voice so calming it might as well be a lullaby. I try to read a few pages from a real, old-school paper novel. I still check my phone before bed. I’m not proud of it. But maybe, one day, I’ll finally cut the cord and stop doomscrolling before sleep.

I hope these small changes will matter. On the nights I sleep well—really well—I wake up with a mind that feels sharper, like someone finally cleaned the windshield. The road ahead doesn’t change, but at least I can see it clearly. I feel focused. Like maybe I can actually meet the day instead of just survive it.

And maybe that’s all I’m chasing—more energy, more ease, a little more lightness in the morning. And if all it takes is putting down my phone before bed, well… that seems like a fair trade.