I found it great to read the comments of people’s experiences, observations and experiments around the practice of getting an early night in response to the article The Science of Early To Bed – so much wisdom readily available in us.
A few of the comments relating to what we do before we go to bed have activated my keyboard this morning. To me, ‘before’ bed is not just the last few minutes before I peel back the sheets and get in.
I agree with what has been shared that it’s how I do everything for the whole of the day that governs the ease of getting to sleep and the quality of my sleep.
But for me it goes back even further than the day’s activities, to how I make my bed in the morning. This may sound funny to some, and some may accuse me of being ‘obsessive’, however, in the morning as soon as I get up (early) I have a little ritual – fully present and loving with myself – when I make my bed. I devote up to 5 minutes to it.
I take off the pillows, top sheet, doona and blankets, whatever… then I smooth out all the wrinkles in the mattress protector and bottom sheet and tuck it back in tight so it’s neat, then shake and smooth out the pillows and put them in place, nicely centred. I then feel how much warmth I may need for the night and choose the coverings accordingly. After that the top sheet goes on, with the same length hanging down both sides of the bed, no wrinkles, and enough length up the pillow end for a comfortable fold-back. Then on goes the doona and/or blankets, also applied symmetrically and smoothed out. I finish by topping off with a couple of colour-matched velvet cushions, shaken out, smoothed and placed at harmonious angles.
Can you imagine the love and care pouring out of my bed, sitting there innocently awaiting me for later?
I can feel it myself, and so can others (“It feels so amazing, am I allowed to sit here?” kind of thing.) When it’s time for me to go to bed and I begin to peel back the covers, my face erupts in a smile ‘all by itself’ – my body is feeling the love I have put into my bed to support and cradle me all night. It feels so delicious and inviting, the smile is inevitable! I can go to sleep within seconds of my head meeting the pillow . . . provided of course I have quietened myself down from the day instead of leaping into bed at 10,000 rpm. Even then, the quality of love in my bed is so strong and supportive that it can help me wind down . . .
It might seem like there’s not enough time in the day to put this level of care into things like making one’s bed, preparing one’s food, clothes, bathroom, kitchen, work spaces, etc., but when you factor in the time lost to feeling tense, tired and disconnected, making complications, messes and mistakes that we have to go back and clean up or correct, being moody and creating issues in relationships that have to be resolved, running out of energy before the day’s over, etc., I reckon the small amount of time given to making my bed and putting loving self-care into one’s physical environment is a great return on investment!
Dedicated to everyone’s loving choices that bring the best quality sleep!
By Dianne Trussell BSc, science researcher, educator & writer, Goonellabah, NSW, Australia
Further Reading:
Insomnia – my sleep disorder or my daily dis-order?
Ironing the Pillow Cases – A Lesson of Love
Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Makes you Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
Livingness Toolkit
960 Comments
Those ‘little’ lovely details DO make a difference to life. I love to fold my clothes in certain ways depending on what it is. I do this at work too and it feels lovely opening the drawer and seeing the care and detail.
There is power when we bring order to our living spaces. The love we imprint our spaces with, loves us back! Each time we go back to re-tidy and clean we are not setting the bar back to zero, but deepening the imprint of before.
I really need to apply this same philosophy to my work desk! to often I leave it to only come back to a disorganised mess!
‘Can you imagine the love and care pouring out of my bed, sitting there innocently awaiting me for later?’ Getting into a lovingly made bed is like the warmest cuddle ever. Bed time has to be my favourite moment of the day when I can snuggle down and feel all that love feeding me back!
When it comes to our day the energy that we awaken is then put into our movements so our bed making can then prepare us for our most loving day and as this is a spherical approach to life we awaken the next day having evolved from the previous day because of the way we have approached each day from the outset, so building a forever deepening level of Love-every-day WOW! thanks Dianne.
It makes sense, the energy that we make our bed in (or do not make our bed!) we come back to at the end of the day, so, do we do this in a quality that supports us? This could be said for everything we do .. how we get dressed, cook a meal etc are we doing it being present with ourselves and in a way that supports ourselves. I have a lot to learn with this one and sometimes when I am in a rush can feel just how this affects me, and others, not in a great way.
How I wake up sets the day. I love waking up to the birds singing it’s pitch dark outside but they are already greeting the day to come with such energy and enthusiasm. I make my bed knowing that it is a place of great rest to come back to. How I am in my day makes a huge difference too. But going into my bedroom at night and seeing just how inviting my bed is, ready for me to put my self to sleep again is well quite magical.
My husband is amazing at making our bed, he makes it every morning without fail. When someone commits to doing something and brings there kind of flare to it it is just gorgeous and inspiring to see.
I love making my bed, I lay my PJ’s and my i pillow on my heated blanket, I then turn my electric blanket on half hour before bed so they are all nice and toasty before I get dressed and jump in!
Our bed and how we prepare it so when we return to sleep we are greeted by a deepened love that we have lived during the day and this is because we have started with the most Loving ritual that snowballs as we appreciate the Love we are living.
Bringing this level of care and love into areas of our life will have a huge impact on our lives and health.
There will be a time when all we’re leaving is the imprint of love wherever we go rather than what we’re all currently leaving which is the imprint of what is not at all loving wherever we go. It’s not so much that we ourselves are the stamp it’s more that we are the portals through which either love or what is not love comes through. Interestingly despite the fact that we live in what appears to be a loveless world, love is actually our default setting. We just work tirelessly to scribble it out.
Your blog really makes me sit up and ask if we are paying attention to the smaller details in life – after all – we have no idea how far one ripple, or one choice can go.
I could feel the love you put into your bed making Dianne and it made me realise how amazing our day would be if we did this with every single thing we did in the day, and if we did, that same love and care would be waiting there for us and everyone else too.
The truth is, love is actually all there is and as far fetched as it sounds we will one day live that truth again.
With sleep being such a big issue for many people these days it would be great if they were given articles like this when they seek help, ‘it’s how I do everything for the whole of the day that governs the ease of getting to sleep and the quality of my sleep.’
And how much more our education would be true in a sense that it actually works when we apply truthfull observation and change whatever is needed from there.
Dianne, I love reading about the care that you take when making your bed – it feels very nurturing to take care of the details.
Dianne, ‘Can you imagine the love and care pouring out of my bed, sitting there innocently awaiting me for later?’ This is lovely. I notice this if I leave my house tidy and cared for – it feels really supportive to come back home to this care at the end of the day.