How I Improved My Sleep in One Week

Introduction

For months, I felt like a ghost in my own life. My body was awake, but my mind was foggy. I was surviving on caffeine and stubbornness, pushing through each day with heavy eyes and an even heavier mood.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to sleep — I just couldn’t seem to do it well. I’d toss, turn, scroll on my phone, and wake up feeling like I’d barely rested at all.

Then one morning, after snapping at a coworker for no real reason, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought: This isn’t me. I need to fix this.

So, I made a promise: for one week, I’d do whatever it took to make sleep my number one priority.

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Day 1: Saying Goodbye to Screens Before Bed

The first thing I tackled was my biggest culprit — my phone.

I’d gotten into the habit of scrolling until my eyes hurt. News, videos, random social media updates… all just before I was supposed to rest. The light from my phone was basically telling my brain, “Hey, it’s daytime!”

That night, I plugged my phone in across the room an hour before bedtime. It was surprisingly hard — I kept wanting to “just check one thing.” But instead, I picked up a real book, the kind with actual pages.

I fell asleep faster than I had in weeks.

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Day 2: Creating a Sleep Ritual

I used to think bedtime routines were for kids. But I realized adults need them too — maybe even more.

I decided my routine would be simple:

• A warm shower to relax my muscles.

• Dimmed lights to signal my body it was nighttime.

• A few minutes of stretching to release tension.

By the time I got into bed, my body felt like it wanted to rest, not fight it.

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Day 3: Rewriting My Evening Menu

One thing I hadn’t connected before: what I ate at night directly affected how I slept. That week, I cut out late-night heavy meals, sugar binges, and — my hardest goodbye — my evening coffee.

Instead, I drank chamomile tea and had light snacks if I was hungry. I woke up the next morning realizing I hadn’t tossed around with that uncomfortable “too full” feeling.

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Day 4: The Magic of a Cooler Room

I read somewhere that our bodies sleep better in cooler temperatures, so I turned my bedroom into a cozy, slightly chilly cave.

I cracked the window, pulled up a thicker blanket, and let the fresh night air in. That night, I didn’t wake up sweating or kicking off covers. Instead, I stayed comfortable and slept straight through.

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Day 5: Saying Yes to Morning Sunlight

Good sleep doesn’t start at night — it starts in the morning. I made it a point to step outside within the first hour of waking, letting natural sunlight hit my face.

This small shift helped reset my body’s internal clock. By nighttime, I actually felt sleepy at the right time instead of wired and restless.

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Day 6: Managing My Mind Before Bed

Even with all these changes, my brain still wanted to replay my entire to-do list as soon as my head hit the pillow.

So I started “brain dumping” — writing down every thought, worry, or reminder before I got into bed. It was like telling my mind, “You can rest now. We’ve saved it for tomorrow.”

That night, I drifted off with a clear head.

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Day 7: Realizing Sleep Is Self-Respect

By the end of the week, something had shifted. I didn’t just sleep better — I lived better. My mood improved. I had more patience. I laughed more.

It hit me: sleep isn’t a luxury. It’s a form of self-respect. It’s how we show our bodies that they matter.

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Thank you for reading...

Regards: Fazal Hadi