To tell the truth, I didn’t care about my sleeping routine when I was in my teens. I used to wake up whenever I wanted, and the time of going to sleep was never the same. Whether I slept for 5 hours or 12, I always felt like I got enough sleep, and I felt undoubtedly refreshed. About my eating habits, they had never been exceptional. When I was in high school I would eat in our school cafeteria and, after school, get a snack that was usually sweet, and I often ended my day with an easy-to-prepare dinner. As for sports, I am fond of many outdoor sports like skiing, jogging, walking, and hiking. I also workout at the gym, I take spin classes, I do weight training. I’ve always been very active and enthusiastic about spending most of my time outdoors.

My lifestyle was not restricted by anything. I did not realize the weight of the impact of this lifestyle on my life. I was a teenager interested in absolutely different stuff. Then I got my first job that required me to get up early. I was picking strawberries in Italy and every day I had to wake up at 4.30 am. So of course, I needed to build some new sleeping habits to gain enough energy during my sleep so that I could work well, and what’s more, have some me time. I decided to change my lifestyle. Believe it or not, changing it was reasonably hard because it started to impact each part of my life. If I didn’t sleep well, I felt like a zombie throughout the day. Working out, my pastime, hanging out with friends, or longer walks with my dog, all these activities were impossible for me without getting a good sleep. I was wrecked! I was aware that if I didn’t sleep well, I would drag myself through life with no purpose.

We’ve all been there. The question is, ‘But how to get a good night’s sleep when so many disturbing elements fly around us trying to catch our attention?‘ Which elements am I talking about? Let me mention the most popular and disruptive ones. I am talking about social media sites and platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. These innocent baits lure us into a kind of world overfilled with fake fun, escalated emotions of people we’ve actually never met and will never meet, or weird videos that usually seem to be absolutely cringe. We keep watching all of this and losing all concept of time slowly by scrolling the screen up and down thoughtlessly. Socials were the biggest challenge for me to overcome because they heavily disrupted both my sleeping and daily routine.

I want to share with you some tips on how to get a night of better sleep and thus be more energetic during the day. Besides avoiding the apps I mentioned, there are other rituals or habits I adopted that have helped me wake up fresh, in a good mood, and with a keenness for a new day.

The following are some tips that have helped me to improve my sleep quality:

1. Don’t look at the screen on your smartphone for at least an hour before going to bed. Set your alarm at least an hour before bedtime and enjoy the last moments of the day with your family (loved ones). Alternatively, read the book you’ve been trying to read for ages but unsuccessfully. You not only get better sleep but also restore your
   reading habits.
2. The darker, the better. Sleep in a dark room. Turn off all the lamps that have a hint of light. Done? Good! The only problem you may face is street lights. Unfortunately, you cannot turn them off unless you’re Dumbledore. Instead, invest in high-quality window blinds that make perfect dark for your perfect sleep (electric window blinds are the best). 
3. Get about 8 hours of sleep a night. For some, it may sound like a good joke. 8 hours?! I work a lot, wake up early, go to the gym, walk my dog, cook, blah, blah, blah. Sure, so do I! Being active during the day and getting eight hours of sleep is not as hard as many of you might think. Three key ingredients of obtaining complete control over my life have been: Number one is setting rules that make my life better, number two is discipline, and number three is consistency.
4. Don’t forget you are doing it for yourself. Manage worries. Don’t try to be in charge of everyone and everything. Think twice before being concerned about things that are not your business. Focus on yourself, have confidence in the people around you, and be supportive and kind. Believe it or not, your sleep will get a new, better dimension.  

Personally, I often go to sleep at 11 pm and wake up at 7 am. I am prone to waking up early, even before my alarm goes off. Of course, there are also some days when I am not home, or my routine needs to be changed because of some other circumstances. But it’s also okay for us to experience some kind of change and leave our comfort zone. Coming home at four in the morning from your friend’s birthday party and ending up sleeping till noon is also fine sometimes. Make sure you remember that you are not a robot, you’re human, and it’s beautiful.