By Maya Lindqvist
What you do between ten and eleven matters more than what time you turn the light off. A plain guide to winding down.
Most advice about sleep starts at the moment your head hits the pillow. By then, most of the work is already done, or undone. The hour before bed is where the night is really decided.
Dim the room before you dim yourself
Bright overhead light tells your body it's still daytime. Swap it for a lamp, or two, low and warm, an hour before you want to be asleep. It feels like nothing. It does a lot.
The evening is a slope, not a switch. Make it gentle and you'll slide down it.
Give the phone a bedtime too
You don't have to give it up. Just pick a time, put it face down across the room, and let that be the signal that the day is over. Dusk reminds you when it's time.
None of this needs to be perfect. Do two of these things most nights and you'll notice the difference within a week.
