Stop the Scroll

I don't know about you, but my night time routine gets pretty out of wack easily. Lately, it's been a mess of scrolling endlessly and leaving that not so intentional mascara blob on my pillow from lack of desire to wash my face. I find that this time often reflects my health at the moment and when I am overwhelmed or anxious it swings to these unproductive mind numbing behaviors.

What about you? Do you get to bed and sleep right away feeling rested when you wake up, or are you like me at the moment? Scrolling the night away?

The feed never stops.

Did you know that? All the videos/posts/status updates will be there in the morning and you won't reach the bottom of it.

The way we spend time in our rooms at night can and will affect our next morning. Well, no duh right? Yeah, some of you need to read that again. The way you spend your time in your room at night can and will affect your next morning.

Is your night time routine a struggle for you? Do you wake up feeling refreshed in the morning? If not, now is the time to change. Here are some things that I am going to instill for the next 14 days. Would you join me?

1. Stop the Scroll

Yeah, you've probably heard it before, but being on your phone at night has some pretty bad consequences health wise. Here are a few: Increased/ongoing fatigue, high blood pressure, head aches, difficulty waking up, eye strain, and lack of sleep altogether. Your body needs sleep to function well. Set a time limit on your phone and stick to it. On the iPhone, you can set up a bedtime that automatically turns your phone on "do not disturb." Try it out. The snap can wait. For real though.

2. Journal

Take some time to right down what you are thankful for that day. It doesn't have to be eloquent or poetic with fancy christianese. Seriously... Just point out where you saw God work throughout that day and thank him for being present. Even if journaling is not your thing, I think writing down these simple thinks could change your outlook on your next day.

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind."

Psalm 107:21

3. Stretch

Get your body involved. Release the tension that you built up throughout the day and relax and stretch. You can do this while you journal or put on some soft music and worship while you wind down.

Did you know that in Jewish culture a day was originally seen as night fall to night fall? A new day begins as the sun falls under the horizon. Jewish festivals and celebrations as well as Sabbaths are observed from evening to evening, not morning to morning. Weird huh? I'm not saying that we need to revert to this traditional view, but I do think there some things that we can learn from this practice.

Let's get to sleep.

Being intentional with our times of rest can and will help us through the long days. God wants you to spend time with Him and not valuing our times of given rest affects our personal health, friendships, relationships, etc.

Would you join with me and try this three step challenge for 14 days?