Fitness Friday: Turning Off The Lights to Relax

So today’s Fitness Friday post has more to do with wellness than actual fitness, but in the end I need to be “well” to be able to pursue fitness so it all works out!

I’m one of those people who takes a while to to sleep. I’ll lay in bed for hours sometimes just thinking about stuff. Any stuff. Not just stressful stuff. My brain just keeps on whirring and I can’t slow it down. Call me a thinker. Call me a worrier even.

Problem is, I’ll wake up the next morning NOT REFRESHED. I feel groggy and I hate waking up (getting out of bed and getting going). The problem with that is if I roll over and go back to sleep I only compound matters. I sleep TOO much and it keeps me awake the following night.

So, in an effort to change things up a bit, we’re conducting an experiment at the Hutto Hacienda.

At around 8 pm every night we “go off the grid” – lights out. Electronics off. Anything that emits “blue light” – ya know, the stuff that stimulates your brain into thinking the sun is still up. Well, there’s study after study that concludes that blue light (after dark) is the culprit for most people’s restlessness.

Some studies say that blue light during the day is a good thing (which is true because it stimulates the same physiological response that sunlight does)…but during night is when our bodies can be really put out of wack by staring at too many electronics.

Most everyone I know thinks of kicking back with a good movie or with the laptop in bed (or even the smartphone) as a way to unwind and relax. The problem with that is, the BLUE LIGHT! Agh!!

Instead of winding our bodies and minds down we’re actually tricking them into thinking the sun is still up which causes us to get our sleep patterns skewed. Now you may be skeptical. I know most people (including me before I began to research this) feel like the best way to wind down is in front of some sort of screen.

Truth is, it’s not.

So our experiment goes a little something like this:

• At 8 pm we go to candle light only. That’s right our entire home converts to a romantic, old school, pre-electricity candle lit haven.
• We put aside all electronics. iPhone, Droid Eris, MacBookPro, TV, PS3, etc. They all go away. Now we’re lenient on this one depending on what night it is because we like a few tv shows. So, there are a few exceptions.
• When we lay down to go to bed we try and eliminate as much artificial light as possible – alarm clock numbers, phones, etc.

Dinner table being set right at about 8 pm. Notice that there is still a bit of sunlight from outside. By the time dinner is finished it's dark outside.

So far, I’m actually FEELING a major difference. As soon as the candle light phase kicks in I get SO relaxed. It’s amazing. I can feel my body wind down. Even if we don’t actually lay down to go to sleep until 10 or 10:30 we’ve had a good chunk of time where we’ve just relaxed. I picked up a crossword puzzle book – that’s helping me engage my mind, but at the same time wind it down.

In the mornings I’ve been getting up a whole lot more refreshed and I enjoy just having a REAL chill time in the evenings. It’s nice.

What are some ways that YOU wind down before going to bed?