TRYBE Tales - Weekly Wellness Edition

Wellness Wisdom Drops

FROM TRYBE

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” - Benjamin Franklin

Stop waking up dozing off on the wrong side of the bed 😴

🧠 The Hard Stuff

Want to lose weight? Sleep more.
Want to be more powerful? Sleep more.
Want to be more productive? Sleep more.
Want to fight off sickness? Sleep more.
Want to improve your life in any capacity whatsoever? Be like a Stanley and sleep more.

I think everyone understands that good quality sleep is a game changer, but it’s not always easy to do. There are tons of culprits that contribute to bad sleep, but today we’ll focus on one; SCREENS.

Side bar: Does participating in this hypocritical message about reducing screen time whilst on a screen make you want to delete this message immediately, like it does me?

Exposure to screens, particularly those emitting blue light, suppresses the secretion of melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland that signals our body when it's time to sleep. This disruption occurs because blue light mimics daylight, sending signals to the brain telling it that it’s still Instagram stalking o’clock, inhibiting melatonin release. It also stimulates the brain's neural networks, keeping it in an active state and hindering the transition into relaxation and sleep. The resulting imbalance in neurotransmitter also reduces the quality and depth of restorative sleep, impacting cognitive functions, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. Basically, you’re waking up on the wrong side of the bed because you’re dozing off on the wrong side of the bed 🤯

🍦 The Soft Stuff

Screen time doesn’t just disrupt your neural-mabob and the peameal bacon gland thingy. It also sinks right down into that finicky subsconcious of yours that could probably use a rest from the doom and gloom.

What happens as we stand on the threshold of sleep is that our brainwaves shift, entering lower states where our emotional landscape is pliable and open to influence. Getting our digital dose at this time can infuse our subconscious with the emotional residue of stressors, worries, and the hustle of the day. That means that nightime doomscrolling watching snatched strangers lipsync and dance (if we want to call it that) their way to fame is going to ply its way into your brain - queue feelings of inadequacy, judgement and resentment being programmed into your brain (unless you’re bingeing quantum physics vids, then scroll away you special human you).

This imprinting can subtly shape our emotional responses and coping mechanisms in the waking hours to come, and can explain why we wake up ready to grab that phone to pick up where we left off - kickstarting our day with more anxiety and overload.

 1. Make It Inconvenient 🧠

One way to beat the battle of night time scrolling is to make it inconvenient to use your phone. Here’s some ways:

• Airplane Mode: Automatically set your phone to airplane mode half an hour before you sleep. This helps beat notification distractions AND gives your brain a break from the microwave radiation emissions from having your phone too close to your head

• Put your charger in another room: Creating physical distance with your phone helps stop mindless scrolling. Easy to say but hard to do? Try buying a lamp or other electronics that plug up your outlets in the bedroom so you’re not tempted to swap chords

• Night Mode and App Restrictions: Activate the "Night Mode" or "Blue Light Filter" feature on your phone to reduce the disruptive blue light emissions. Additionally, explore app settings or third-party tools that allow you to set time limits on certain apps, preventing access during the evening hours

• Invest in a Weighted Blanket: This may feel like a stretch but if your arms are trapped under the warm embrace of a weighted blanket they can’t (and won’t want to) be reaching for the phone 😉 

 2. Bedtime Reflective Rituals 🧠🍦

Try introducing new habits and rituals to your bedtime routine that don’t involve your phone or screen. Here’s some that are easy to try:

• Journal: Keep a gratitude journal or notepad beside your bed and get in the habit of writing 3 great things that happened in your day

• Read: Keep a book beside your bed to make it convenient to pick it up and clock some reading before snoozing

• Bedtime Stories: Who doesn’t want to listen to Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey lull them into dream mode? Try an app like Calm that narrates bedtime stories for adults so all you have to do is press play and put your phone away

3. Stimulate Your Other Senses 🍦

Try swapping the distractions of visual appeal with those geared towards other senses:

• Spritz spritz: Spray some lavender mist onto your pillows* to breath in the calm and activate the doziness

• White noise machine: Press play on that Babbling Brook soundtrack and zen out to the sounds of whatever the heck a babbling brook is

• Bedtime Stories: Who doesn’t want to listen to Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey lull them into dream mode? Try an app like Calm that narrates bedtime stories for adults so all you have to do is press play and put your phone away

*if you have pillows that - if not, we’re here for you, check these out.

What is 1 highlight from my day? What is 1 small moment of joy from my day? What is 1 small interaction that enriched my day? Hold those thoughts as you fall asleep tonight.