Sleep routine and tips on how to get it in order.

So its been 2 months into the new year. I don't make new year resolutions but many have seen their new year resolutions created and crumble already. The motivation spikes when we start something new and then goes downhill. Unless you are determined and work on it on a consistent basis regardless of feeling motivated or not.

Sleep routines have been difficult to maintain for me from the beginning. It's a constant struggle for me and so is for many people in today's world. Work, family, personal health, leisure, so many things to work on in 24 hours so you can excuse yourself if instead of going to bed around 10-11, you pull an all-nighter or sleep around 2am. It doesn't seem harmful if it happens once in a fortnight or maybe even a week. But if its frequency starts to increase, it can have a toll on your mental and physical health.

Our mind and body need time to recover from the daily exhaustion. Just like everything in the world, you too need time to recharge and your bed is your charging port. If you are not properly recharged, you won't be able to function properly the next day, obviously.

Let's discuss some tips to help you get your sleeping routine in order.

- Start with unplugging from technology. Almost an hour before bedtime, disconnect with the world and simply focus on yourself. Put all devices aside as your phone backlight tells your brain that its daytime and disrupts its natural sleep cycle. So it's necessary for a sound sleep that you disconnect with everything else except yourself.

- Meditation can be a very helpful technique to prepare your mind and body for sleep. Our minds have the tendency to act like a monkey and hang from one branch of thought to the other, especially when trying to focus or trying to calm down. Meditating before sleep can help you calm that monkey.

- Keep your phone away from yourself. It is better to buy an alarm clock than use your mobile phone as an alarm since that will make sure you don't keep checking and fooling your brain.

- When you get ready for bed, wear bedclothes used only for sleeping in, and not your gym t-shirt! When we put on specific clothing for bedtime, it signals to our brain we are preparing for rest.

- Stay away from your bed throughout the day except when you have to rest. Associating your bed only with sleep can make you fall asleep quicker.

- Get a warm bath, massage your feet and scalp as all these things calm the body.

-Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. This is going to help you regulate your biological clock.

- Avoid exercising a few hours before hitting the hay. This will allow your body temperature to lower easily.

- Keep your bedroom quiet, dark, its environment clean and relaxing.