How Journaling Can Help You Unwind Before Bed 

Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash

Do you find it difficult to fall asleep immediately when you go to bed? When this happens occasionally, it shouldn’t be a cause for worry, but if it’s happening every time, you need to reflect on it. 

Most of us have faced those sleepless nights when anxiety, stress, financial worries or an overdose of caffeine have kept us awake till the wee hours. In such situations, you can probably trace it back to a root cause. The trick is to address those reasons early on so that they don’t interfere with your sleep. 

Fall Asleep Faster: Tips and Tricks 

Over the years, people develop their own strategies to get the necessary quantity and quality of sleep they need. There are differences across age, health status, personal preferences and needs. In the end, you will find your own evaluation of how much and what kind of sleep leaves you feeling refreshed and rested. 

An important factor in this is to create your own sleep rituals. This individual set of activities, behavior or thoughts can help to signal your brain that it’s time to go to bed and sleep. The rituals usually start an hour or two ahead of bedtime.

One of the best strategies is to get your chores done for the night. Some people consider cleaning the kitchen, locking up, turning off the lights, checking windows and setting out the coffee mugs for the next morning as activities that signal the end of the day.

Some of you may listen to soothing music or chants, while others would like to take a warm shower. Ensuring that you have fresh and clean sheets, and the lights are dimmed in your bedroom help to lower your sensory inputs. 

Have the last meal at least three hours before bedtime and try to stay away from high fat or over-spiced items. This allows the food to be mostly digested by the time you’re ready to rest. Avoid drinking too many liquids before bedtime, as you may have to wake up at night to use the restroom. 

Sleep rituals help your body to gradually relax and loosen up to promote good and long-lasting sleep. 

One of the most effective ways to unwind is to go over the day’s events in a calm and reflective manner. Writing a diary or journaling used to be a popular practice in an earlier era and today it is a powerful tool that helps you to unwind before bed. 

Bullet Journaling: An Effective Bedtime Ritual

Of late, a popular trend is topping the charts in promoting mindfulness, relaxation, keeping yourself organized and more. 

Bullet journaling is something that you can take up at any age, location or socio-economic status. In simple terms, it combines a diary, planner, reminder, calendar and self-talk notes to yourself. It’s called a bullet journal, because you can make notes in the form of short bullet points rather than elaborate sentences and paragraphs. 

If you are looking for a nice bullet journal you can find a great range at Rest and Digest. They provide a wonderful variety of self care resources and products including several bullet journals here.

You can structure your finances by doing a budget of your income and expenses to see where you sit with regard to cash flow each month.

You can make your own bullet journal with the help of a few simple products. You will need a notebook or planner that has a calendar section. Add some colorful crayons, markers or glitter pens, and stickers, washi tape, markers, gel pens, sticky-notes and anything else that catches your creative eye. 

You can divide the journal up into different sections. Make a contents or index page that helps you to quickly navigate through the journal. 

Once you’ve assembled all the materials, it’s time to create your bedtime unwinding ritual. 

The first step is to fix a time. Consistency is the key to a successful ritual, so firm up on a time where you are free of chores or duties. Keep your bullet journal kit in an accessible and safe place, and keep them exclusively for bullet journaling. 

There are no rules and regulations here. Your journal is your private thoughts and ideas, and you can express them in any way you like. Prose, poetry, artwork, doodles, stickers and graphics are creative ways to convey your thoughts. 

Kindness, gratitude and mindfulness are an essential part of bullet journaling, so take a moment to reflect on the day’s positive events. But don’t bottle up the negative stuff -bullet journals are  your safe venting space. This helps you to get perspective, compassion and a better understanding of hurtful events or interactions.  

Use the journal as a reminder so that you don’t forget important appointments, birthdays, anniversaries, grocery lists, family schedules and more. To-do lists give you a chance to structure your time more effectively and to prioritize tasks. 

Bullet journaling allows you to clear emotional space in your brain so that you sleep better. The reminders and to-do lists help to reduce stress and anxiety and feel in control. 

Have a start and end time for bullet journaling, so that the block of time is clearly defined. Use a pomodoro timer to regulate the time. This way when you come towards the end of the allocated time, your brain gets the message that it’s time to sleep.