Have you felt tired this week? If so, the problem might not be that you’re getting too little sleep—it could be that you’re getting the wrong kind of sleep. Disorderly sleep (not enough some nights, too many others) is a recipe for exhaustion, volatile moods, and unproductive workdays.
How can you establish a more consistent sleep schedule?
The answer is painfully simple—and for many of us, painfully difficult to implement: You need a bedtime. The good news? Choosing the right bedtime only requires some quick math. Start by deciding when you need to wake up most days. Subtract seven or eight hours, depending on how much sleep you think you need. If you want to get up at 7 am, your bedtime should be 11 pm or 12 am.
To hold yourself accountable, set a “wind-down” alarm for 30 minutes or an hour before your bedtime. Stick to it for a week. This week’s fatigue will be last week’s problem.