An Hour of Sleep Before Midnight Is Worth Two After
The best piece of advice I’ve ever received is about sleep.
Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after.
I was told this 15 years ago, by the principal teacher of my school. He was also my counsellor, and he always remarked on how tired I appeared. A combination of a high sugar diet and an unhealthy amount of World of Warcraft will make anyone look haggard.
While long forgotten is the 2 litres of fresh orange juice a day fueled MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game) habit, I’ve never forgotten that advice. Every hour of sleep you get before midnight is worth two after.
I think most people have said to themselves one morning — or perhaps many mornings — that they should get an early night. Maybe you sigh it after you’ve hit snooze on that alarm a few times and still feel exhausted, or admit it to yourself when the compound interest of too many late nights has come to collect.
For years I was always this person. I’d stay up doing something a little longer than I should, the clock would sneak by midnight. “Tomorrow night”, I’d say with little conviction as a week of late nights would go by. Each consecutive night eroding my mood and ability to do things. Then I’d treat myself to a lie-in, kidding myself later with the lie “well, I slept in this morning, I can afford a late night!”
Occasionally the stars would align and I did get an early night, it was unbelievable how rejuvenating it was. Every time I managed it, I resolved to make it a habit and start getting to bed early. That night, the clock would strike ten, and I’d think to myself “just one more episode” or “just a bit more coding”. I’d forget my commitment from not even 16 hours earlier.
No matter the agreement made or how good the feeling was, I couldn’t make the habit stick. The immediate satisfaction from staying up a little later always outweighed the delayed reward promised by a good nights sleep.
Routine Is Where It’s At
It wasn’t until I started exploring the power of routine that I discovered the key to getting an hour of sleep before midnight. It’s not about making a habit of going to bed; it’s about making a habit of the things you do before going to bed.
A simple routine that’s repeatable each evening is vital — a string of small wins that triggers your bed mode.
Each night, this is the routine I try to complete:
- Let the dog out for a pee
- Prepare breakfast
- Coax the dog in
- Get biscuits for the cats
- Lock the external doors of my house
- Turn out the lights
- Put my phone on to charge
- Brush my teeth & floss
- Get in the bed
- Write down tomorrow morning’s intentions
- Read
- Sleep
It starts at around 21:30 and has me in bed by 22:00. If I can get in bed by 22:00, I consider myself in the golden zone for getting at least an hour of sleep before midnight, and the elusive “good night’s sleep”.
This routine has helped me win an hour of sleep before midnight most nights in 2020.
What’s on the routine doesn’t really matter, but here are five things to consider when setting yours.
1. Focus On Completing The Next Action
Getting Things Done by David Allen is an excellent guidebook to develop a framework for completing tasks. The most useful bit for me is the technique of stating what the next immediate tangible action is for a given goal or todo.
“What’s The Next Action” has become a mantra, it’s brilliant for creating momentum. When looking at my bedtime routine in its entirety all 12 steps, even as simple as they are, can feel daunting. However, if I focus on the first step, the next action, it’s a piece of cake.
Once our dog Milo is out to snuffle in the garden, I focus on the next action. Great, breakfast is prepped, what’s next? Milo is back in. Time to lock the doors. A single straightforward operation at a time. This one first, now that one, okay now this one.
2. Write Down Your Morning Intentions
One reason I find myself staying up late is to squeeze more productivity out of the day. That’s a lie. It’s to watch another episode of Unsolved Mysteries. In any case, I frequently find myself going to bed with a full head.
It’s noisy.
“You need to do this thing, and that thing.” “Don’t forget about that email.” “You’ve got to do this in the morning.” On and on the thoughts go. They peck at my mind, like a team of vultures. It’s unpleasant and makes sleep really hard to find.
Now, while stopping thoughts is hard, calming them down is easier to do. Jot down your todo list for tomorrow and then write down a narrative of how you’re going to achieve them.
For example, my todo list for tomorrow has:
- Change the bedding.
- Groom the dog.
- Hoover.
As a narrative, this becomes:
Tomorrow morning I’ll get up and strip the bed and kick the washing machine off. Then I’ll bribe Milo with some biscuits and give him a good groom, all that hair will need hoovering, so next, I’ll hoover.
Now I’ve put those thoughts to paper and planned my morning in a way which feels easily achievable. I’ve set an implementation intention, a technique from James Clear’s work and book Atomic Habits.
3. Have An Enthralling Book That’s Kept For Bed
Aside from sex and exhaustion, not much can draw me to bed better than a good book.
Find whatever grips you and has that “cannot put it down” quality. For me, it needs to be wonderous swords and sorcery fiction that exercises my imagination (those Warcraft cravings go deep). Whatever your genre might be, find a brilliant version of it, and save that text for bed.
When I have an excellent book to look forward to, it provides immediate satisfaction. Delivering a little bit of dopamine with the added benefit of getting me in bed.
4. Communicate Your Routine With Who You Live With
Routines are fantastic, but they are weak without commitment. While the buck stops with you, that commitment extends to the others you share a home with.
For me, that’s my partner, Vicki.
Any routine I’ve tried to develop seems to fail if I don’t share it with those it may affect. A bedtime routine, in particular, is essential to share with the person you intend to sleep next too.
Communication is crucial. Explaining why you want to do something, how you intend to achieve it, and asking for support makes it all the easier to accomplish.
This communication can also create an accountability partner. When I’m starting to doze off on the couch, Vicki can nudge me and say “should you let Milo out for a pee?”
(If you live alone, tell a friend or a colleague, sharing the intention creates accountability and can motivate you to stay the course.)
5. Expect It To Go Wrong
One night I dropped the cats’ food bowl, scattering biscuits everywhere. Another I decided it was better to eat ice cream and watch a documentary about the Mafia.
I’m not perfect.
No one’s perfect, no routine is either, and no two days are the same. Accept this and expect that one night you or something else is going to get in the way of your routine.
The trick is to not let it derail your progress. Remember the first tip and ask yourself, what’s the next action?
Sleep is something we all need, but quality sleep seems to elude most of us.
An hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after is the best advice I’ve ever received, and it’s kept me sane during Covid-19.
