What does paradise look like to you?

Is it a warm, sunny beach with see-through blue water?

Or, maybe, it's skiing down white, fluffy ski slopes, wind whipping in your face.

Whatever paradise looks like to you, there's one thing everyone's paradise has in common.

It's a place our mind associates with warm and happy feelings.

What if I told you your bedroom can become something a little closer to paradise?

Sounds great, right?

This week, I will explore a powerful method to improve your brain's association with sleep, making your sleep environment one step closer to paradise.

And, thankfully, it's pretty darn simple.

Let's dive in.

Table of Contents

1. The Power of Association

2. The "Walk It Off" Method

3. Summary

The Power of Association

The brain is an association machine.

It loves to tie one thing to another.

Take the paradise example from above.

When you experience your paradise, it leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

This causes you to associate this place (paradise) with a feeling.

Your brain does this more often than you may think, including with your own bedroom.

Some people enjoy the process of falling asleep, and therefore, associate their bedroom/bed with a happy, restful place.

Many others have trouble falling asleep at times.

Over time, this can cause your mind to associate your bed with wakefulness, which can make falling asleep and staying asleep even more difficult.

That's why it's so important to break any negative association we have with sleep and our bedroom.

But, how do I possibly even begin to do this?

The “Walk It Off” Method

When struggling to fall asleep for more than ~25 minutes, get out of bed and "walk it off", ideally by going to a room other than your bedroom.

Then, do something you find relaxing (excluding technology/screens) like listening to a podcast, reading, or a monotonous task, until you feel tired again.

Only once you feel tired again, return to bed and attempt to fall asleep again.

There is no time limit on when you have to go back to your room because forcing yourself to go back before you are tired will just continue the cycle of associating your bed with being awake.

After consistently implementing this strategy, you will program your brain to associate the bed as a place of rest and calmness.

Summary

Your bedroom should not feel like a place where you fight each and every night to fall asleep.

It can feel like something much closer to a calming, restful paradise.

Here's how:

If you cannot fall (back) asleep for more than ~25min, get out of bed, go to a different room, and do a calming, low-light activity until tired again.

Only when tired again, should you return to your bed and begin to try and fall asleep again.

This is because staying in bed when you cannot fall asleep will cause you to begin to associate your bed with being awake.

This can lead to more serious sleep problems down the line.

So, if you can't fall asleep, remember to "walk it off" by getting up and out of bed, and doing something calming outside of your bedroom until you feel tired once more.

Action Items:

Next time you can’t fall (back) asleep for more than ~25 min, get out of bed, and do a calming, low-light activity until tired again.

Only when you’re eyes truly feel heavy, can you go back to bed.