Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life

by Gretchen Rubin

I’d fallen into a classic failure-to-monitor trap: because I felt smug about my good sleep habits, I remembered the nights when I went to bed at 9:45, but overlooked the nights when I stayed up until 11:30 or later. Once monitoring showed that I wasn’t getting enough sleep, I decided to give myself a specific bedtime. Every night, if I was home, I’d aim to be in bed by 10:30. Now, every night at 10:30, I tell myself, “It’s my bedtime,” and if I’m still up at 11:00, I say, “It’s thirty minutes past my bedtime.” Using a clear rule, instead of “feeling sleepy,” helps because too often I get into that restless, wired-but-tired state that tricks me into thinking that I’m not ready for bed, when I’m actually exhausted.