What’s the last thing most people look at before bed? Their phone. What’s the first thing they look at when they wake up? Their phone again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s nothing wrong with phones. But here’s the problem: the blue light from your phone screen tricks your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. So your brain doesn’t produce melatonin \u2014 the hormone that makes you feel sleepy. The result? You’re exhausted but can’t fall asleep. Or you fall asleep but don’t sleep deeply, and wake up feeling like you never slept at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TCM doesn’t talk about blue light or melatonin. But TCM talks about shen \u2014 your spirit or mind. TCM believes that at night, your shen should return to your body to rest. When you scroll through your phone, message after message comes in \u2014 good news, bad news, things that make you happy, things that make you angry. All of it stirs up your shen. No wonder you can’t sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The solution is simple: put down your phone half an hour before bed. That’s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What to do in that half hour? Three quiet things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, drink a small cup of warm water. Not tea, not soda. Just warm water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second, soak your feet in warm water. As mentioned earlier, foot soaking warms your whole body and helps you fall asleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third, sit on your bed and breathe deeply for five minutes. Don’t think about anything. Just breathe. In. Out. Slowly. Quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the thought of half an hour without your phone makes you anxious, that’s a sign you need this half hour even more. No message is so important that it has to be seen right before you sleep. They can wait until morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try this for one week. You’ll notice: you fall asleep faster, you sleep deeper, and you wake up less tired. This isn’t magic. This is what your body was always supposed to do. You’re just giving it a chance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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