Sadly, I got home late enough last night that I only got 7 hours of sleep. I really feel the difference. It's made me realize how important it is that I prioritize getting 8 hours.
That's really good feedback from your body. Do you have a plan yet for getting the 8?
Sort of.
As I'm making more of an effort, I'm learning that 8 hours of sleep requires the alignment of a lot of factors. My life isn't really structured around it, so it's taking a lot of adjustment (big and small). The biggest one is that I often don't get home at a reasonable hour. It leaves no time to do the little chores that come up in daily life like cooking, cleaning, etc, let alone relaxing and getting ready for bed. There are little things I can do, but I'm basically setting myself up to fail most nights with my schedule. This will require some long term changes.
Things that are helping:
-Scheduling worknight hobbies at 7, not 8. If I have a choice, always aim for 7. If not, really consider how important it is before committing. I'm going to keep all the commitments I've already made in the next few months, but really stick to this moving forward.
-Prioritizing what needs to get done at home and being realistic about how long things take. The to-do lists I have in my head each evening are usually too ambitious. Some of it can wait.
-Limiting TV to shows I am already watching. I used to watch a lot of TV to unwind, but my evening hobbies have become more important to me. If I've already spent the evening doing something fun, I don't need to watch TV too.
-The downtime function on my phone. I'd rather get something productive done than waste time on social media if I only have a little bit available at night.
-Thinking of bedtime as earlier than it really is so I start getting ready sooner.
Got 7 and a half hours last night. Not perfect, but better.