PhotoCredit: Morning
I will readily admit I don’t always follow my own advice. I have a strong rebellious streak and will often wreck havoc on myself purely for the fun of breaking a few rules. I could never let someone else down. Letting myself down? In a hot minute. Three glasses of wine too many on a school night? Fun! Carbs, bring them on! Skipping yoga class, genius idea. Neglecting my own work in favor of helping others, heck yes.
Cut to feeling like shit and being overwhelmingly behind.
Thankfully, I am mostly wise enough to not let all my systems fail me. Mostly. Thankfully I am also slowly learning that feeling good is way more fun than being a rebel. Slowly!
My recent discovery is a bit of a game-changer. After being plagued with a severe headache for two days I realized I had to drastically shift my screen time and light exposure. I listened to a few podcasts on topic (Dave Asprey, Dr Mercola and Rich Roll are my standard nerdy go-to’s) and decided to test a few things.
It’s been life altering. This is what I have been experimenting with:
Natural (blue) light exposure first thing in the morning. Very easily achieved by taking the dog for a quick early walk and just soaking up the morning light. Winston and I are both enjoying this;
Open windows during the day. Especially in the morning when the air is cool. I am not sure what this does to the light filtering (clearly something) but the combo-act of cool air and unfiltered light is a winning combination. Such an easy thing to incorporate in your morning;
Constant breaks from the screen in the form of gazing at the sky and into the distance. This is so important for eye strength and fatigue-prevention. You can also pretend you are thinking deep philosophical thoughts when you are really just trying to decide what you should have for lunch;
When you can, shut the screen. We don’t have to be on zoom for every call; and
My personal favorite is spending the hour before I go to sleep listening to a Tara Brach podcast and shutting off all lights. Honestly, I wake up feeling about 60% better when I have done this. Listen to whatever takes your fancy but find something that is calming (and that doesn’t get your mind running a million miles an hour).
I did some research and ultimately decided against the various light blocking glasses. I don’t love wearing glasses as it is and I wanted to see what I could impact without buying another gadget. Switching to Dark Mode on your screens is likely a better place to start. I have been on and off with this over the years because the tech isn’t perfect, but it’s a great addition when you can’t avoid a lot of screen time. Check these resources to change your phone and your computer. Just search “dark mode” and your device type if you are not a mac-junkie like me.
My absolute game changing favorite is the hour of no-lights pre bed. I know, I am telling you to cut the pre-sleep binge-watching. I am the WORST person. You’d like me a lot more if I said potato chips+wine+a few episodes of ‘Nailed It’ was conducive to a great night’s sleep. But sadly, it’s not. I tested that theory last night. No bueno people. No bueno!