Sleep

A better sleep guidebook

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As we move into a new calendar year, it’s natural
to reflect on our states of being and to consider
shifts we might make toward feeling healthier
and happier. One of the most powerful ways
to improve overall wellbeing is to get a good
night’s sleep.

The benefits of healthy slumber include:

We know there may be things going on in

your life that make getting the sleep you want
or need difficult. Maybe you’re a new parent,
or dealing with some big changes in your life,
or struggling with insomnia. Whatever your
circumstance, there are small, doable steps you can
take that can enhance the quality of your sleep, and
the quality of your life. Begin where you are.

We created this journal to help, and hope it inspires

you to make the changes you can and not worry
about the ones that aren’t possible or that you’re
not ready to make. Small shifts eventually add up
to big shifts.

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Sleep Ref lections
Let’s start by checking in with you and your current sleep practices.

Here are some practices that can improve sleep quality. How many are part of your routine?
Which are you not doing currently but that feel doable and desirable to you?

Put a checkbox in the appropriate column for each:

ICE

ICE
TRY

TRY
CT

CT
TO

TO
RA

RA
BIT

BIT
TP

TP
HA

HA
EN

EN
RR

RR
W

W
CU

NE

CU

NE
Listening to a Sleep Story Drinking decaffeinated tea before bed

Doing Deep Sleep Meditation A scoop of coconut oil before bed

Doing the Evening Wind Down A clutter-free bedroom

Calm Body Session
Avoid particular foods
Listening to relaxing music
Keeping a notebook by your bed to
Dimming the lights empty thoughts and to-do list onto
paper so that you can rest your mind
Drinking lots of water during
the day but not drinking too Meditation
much right before bed
Breathing exercises
Regular Exercise
Calm Sleep Mist
Avoiding screens & blue light
before bed Aromatherapy

Getting sunlight during the day Cooler temperatures in the bedroom

Using a sleep mask A set bedtime

Using Ear Plugs

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 Take a moment to reflect on anything else that helps
you get a good night sleep, or any other practices
not listed above that you would like to try.

Take a moment to reflect on anything else that may WHAT HURT S S LEEP FO R YOU?
be affecting your ability to get a good night’s sleep. Put a checkbox in any that apply.
It may be circumstantial (a partner’s snoring...)
or more personal (an emotional situation that is Watching TV before bed
causing distress...) This is a place just for you,
Drinking coffee or other high-caffeine beverages
a place to write it out, and explore connections to past a certain time of day
your sleep health.
Scrolling through social media

Eating chocolate late in the day

Not making enough time for relaxation in your day

Staying out late

Checking/answering email before bed

Bright lighting

A busy mind

Noise during sleep hours

Stress

Sleeping in

A hot bedroom

Inconsistent sleeping hours

Eating a large meal close to bedtime

Drinking alcohol before bed

Nighttime parenting or caregiving

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 How would you rate the
quality of your sleep?
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I am exhausted I feel well-rested

most of the time. and energized most
of the time.

How much shut-eye

Do you have a set are you getting in
bedtime? an average week?
If so, when? Take a moment to
do the math.

Do you have any concerns

about your sleep?

Do you have a bedtime routine,

steps you follow that lead up to
sleep? If so, what do you do?

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Circle how you most often
feel when you wake up.

Refreshed

Recharged

Drained

Anxious

Tired

Happy

Sad

Lethargic

Energized

Peaceful

Irritable

Frustrated

Calm

Enthusiastic

Resentful

Content

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What might be possible for you
if you were able to improve your
sleep quality??

What are your hesitations/fears/

concerns in addressing your sleep?

What can you do to set yourself up for better sleep? Or, said another way,
what habits would you like to integrate into your daily life? (Use the checklist
on page three for inspiration.)

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 A Sleep
Experiment
An experiment and
assessment to get to know
more about your sleep
support and needs.

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At the end of the day, the
amount of sleep we need
is unique to our bodies
and current circumstances.
However, many of us
dramatically underestimate the amount of sleep Do you have a sense of how many hours
that we need and rely on caffeine to get us through would be ideal for you to sleep at this
the day. The truth is, if you need coffee to feel awake
time in your life? Write down any insights
in the morning, you probably didn’t get enough
that you have from this experiment.
sleep. Most of us need somewhere between
7-9 hours of sleep a night.

An experiment:
For a week, go to bed at least 9 hours before you
need (or want) to wake up and note when you
naturally awaken. Set an alarm just in case but
give yourself the full 9 hours. This will help you to
determine how much sleep is optimal for you at
this time in your life. While 7-9 hours may be ideal,
this amount might not feel possible for everyone.
If you’re getting less than 7 hours of sleep, we
encourage you to work toward getting more.
Challenge yourself to add an extra hour.

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How much Plan your bedtime and alarm
wake-up time for the week.

sleep do Routine and consistency can really help

when it comes to sleep, so if it’s possible,

we really make these times the same for every day

of the week. If that’s not realistic for you,

need?
work on creating a consistent amount of
time for you to sleep.

IME
IME

T
KE
DT

WA
BE
Su

Th

Sa

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 Creati ng a
dreamy
Bedti me
Routi ne

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Modern culture has us moving very quickly and, as
a result, unwinding can feel difficult, even awkward,
strange. But as our bodies and minds become
accustomed to it, we can remember how natural it
is to be in a state of calm, and how pleasing it can
be to drift to sleep. Reconnecting with our natural,
biological rhythms takes practice. What helps us
in adopting any new practice is routine. Routine
eliminates the stress of having to make decisions.
It settles the nervous system. And, repeated, it
becomes our new way of being. This is especially
true with a sleep routine.

Here is your opportunity to create your own

bedtime routine. Look back to the checklist on
page 3, see which practices seemed inviting to
you, and work out how you might incorporate
them into a consistent practice you can follow.

Here is a sample bedtime routine: My bedtime routine:

8:45 p.m. :
Download the Sleep Story I want
to listen to tonight
8:50 p.m. :
Brush my teeth and take my vitamins
8:55 p.m.
Do the Calm Body Evening Wind Down
:
movement practice
9:10 p.m. :
Turn off all technology and put
my phone on airplane mode
9:15 p.m. :
Read for a half-hour
9:45 p.m.
Play my downloaded Sleep Story :
and drift off to sleep

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Now that you’ve highlighted

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some shifts that you want
to make, let’s approach
this mindfully with

Calm’s
Golden
Rules of
a Mindful
Intention

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 MAKE YOUR
INTENTIONS
SMART
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S pecific
For example, “I want to sleep better in 2019”
is a powerful declaration but it is not a specific
intention or goal. “I will create a bedtime routine”
R elevant
Make sure each goal you set inspires, excites, or
is specific. Calm tip: It can be so helpful to start motivates you, and that directly connects to what
with how you want to feel, and then ask yourself you hope to experience for yourself – in this case,
what can practical thing you can do to achieve that super sweet sleep.
feeling.

M easurable
T ime-bound
Of course we want our new habits to last, but
When we have a goal in mind, we tend to want forever is a long time, and it can be demotivating
to achieve it … immediately. And if there is no to begin when the goal ahead is so big. Instead,
objective way to track progress, then anything pick an amount of time to try on your intention. For
less than perfection (which is impossible, of example, “I will try to turn off my phone one hour
course), disappoints and discourages. But if we before bed, for 30 days.” Now it’s an experiment
set intentions that are measurable, it’s easier to and that’s an amazing way to learn about yourself.
see the small shifts that are happening, and we Once you’ve completed your intention, you can
feel encouraged. Let’s say you set an intention decide to keep going or shift the plan.
of doing the Calm Body Evening Wind Down
stretches in the app as part of your nightly routine.
Write down your specific, measurable,
It’s easy to measure how many nights a week you
attainable, relevant, and time-bound
manage that.
sleep health intention or intentions...

A ttainable
Now it’s time to be honest -- and compassionate
-- with yourself. If you’ve been going to bed
at midnight for the last few years, a 9:45 p.m.
bedtime might be too challenging an adjustment.
If so, can you make the shift more gentle and
manageable for yourself? Would 10:30 p.m. feel
more attainable? Once you’re able to do this with
consistency, there’s nothing stopping you from
setting a new goal.

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2 MAKE IT
VISIBLE

Ideas can float around in our heads for a long time.

Writing it down, which you just did on the previous page,
has a way of making it real. Making it visible, the next
step, is what makes it doable. We all need reminders.
Take your intention and put it somewhere you’ll see it
often like, on your mirror, on the back of your phone, on
your computer’s wallpaper.

Where will you post your written intention

for yourself?

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 3 MAKE
A PLAN

Now that you know the what (your intentions) and the
why (better sleep for better health and happiness!), it’s
time to figure out the how. What do you need to do in
order to stay true to your commitment? It’s helpful to
think about what might get in your way. For example, if
you’re trying to start getting ready for bed at 9 p.m., but you’re working until 8:45 p.m., you’re not set up to
succeed and may need to look at ways of changing your work schedule. Or maybe it’s easy for you to lose
track of time watching TV or scrolling social media, so setting an alarm to remind yourself to start getting
ready for bed could be supportive, or using phone controls that limit app access at certain times.

Fill out the table below.

Possible obstacles How to handle

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 4 DO IT

Once you’ve set yourself up, using the steps

above, whatever you’ve planned for yourself?
It is doable. Maybe not easy, but doable.
Why not begin tonight?

Pay attention. Get curious. Notice how you’re

feeling. This is how to nurture mindfulness in any
practice. If what you are doing feels good, soak
up that feeling, so that your mind and body can
integrate this new information, and form new neural
pathways connected to pleasure and wellbeing.
If what you’re doing feels hard, that’s important

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personal data. Explore what’s coming up for you
in this process and use it to learn about yourself,
and adjust your plan.. If, for example, you find you
feel anxious because you’re not checking your
email before bed anymore, you might give yourself
permission to skim your inbox for 10 minutes and
then write down any to-dos that come from what
you’ve read so that your brain can rest, knowing
you have a plan for tackling it in the morning.

If it feels like you took too much on, it may be PRACTICE

necessary to adjust the plan with compassion AWARENESS
and inner wisdom. This is often the point where
people just give up instead of modifying it to work
for where they are at and who they are. Think of it
Take a moment to reflect on what
like choosing a weight that was too heavy to lift.
you have noticed or become more
You could just give up on lifting weights and never
aware of since beginning your new
build muscle, or you could scale down and build
muscle in a more practical way. Let go of any all-or-
sleep practices.
nothing failure narratives you might have and work
towards your goals in a more sustainable way. This
is self-compassion in action. (If you could benefit
from more self-compassion, the Calm Relationship
with Self Series includes a 10-minute guided
meditation called Self-Compassion you may find
really supportive.)

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 CHECK IN WITH
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YOUR FRIENDS AND
COMMUNITY

It can be tempting to keep your goals to yourself Take a moment to write out who you’d
out of fear of failing, but then you rob yourself like to share your intentions with and
of accountability, support, encouragement, and what kind of support or encouragement
connection. You are definitely not alone; in the you‘d like to ask of them.
United States alone, 60 million people struggle with
insomnia. Find people you trust and support each
other. Share your stories, offer solidarity, cheer each
other on, and tap into the strength of community.

If you’re looking for mindful community, join us in

the Daily Calm Community. We’d love to meet you.
Sure, you could probably do it on your own, but it’s
so much better when you feel the support, wisdom,
and strength of others.

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“ Sleep is the best meditation. ”
— DALAI LAMA

Wishing you good nights

and sweet dreams

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