Bedtime

Hi everyone. I totally forgot about Writer’s Workshop this week, even though there are several prompts that appeal to me. I might just write another post tomorrow about another prompt, but tonight, I’m talking about my bedtime routine. Oh wait, I wrote a post about that already in 2022. Reading it makes me miss Raalte so much… even my night-time routine was better. Oh well, here’s my current night-time routine.

My night-time routine starts at 8PM with my getting into my nightwear. Even though this is early, I’m the last of my care home to get dressed into my nightwear. I also get my last round of meds at 8PM, which thankfully doesn’t include sleeping pills. The one time I took a sleeping pill while here, I had to take it at 9PM, which is still very early for me.

At 8:45PM, I usually get a small snack or a bit of fruit, because like I said I go to bed late and I’d feel hungry if my last food of the day (except for a biscuit at evening coffee time) was dinner at 5PM. Then at 9:30PM I brush my teeth, my staff lock my door that leads to the backyard and turn off my lights. Since I’m blind, I can function without light and, if the staff don’t turn off the light for me, I might forget or be bothered by the light if it’s set really bright, and I don’t know how the switch works.

Once I’m ready for bed, I turn off my computer and check the battery status of my iPhone. I sometimes forget to charge my Apple Watch before bedtime and then I put it on the charger for a few minutes to at least get a bit of power to last it through the night. Depending on the battery status of my iPhone and my mood, I might turn on relaxing music either for an hour or throughout the night.

I take off my slippers and usually my socks (except in the freezing depth of winter, then I leave my socks on). I have a weighted blanket that I lie under year-round. And no, it isn’t exceptionally hot in summer. I also fetch two specific stuffed animals: the lemur will have its tail across my stomach and the dolphin I will hold in my arms. I have about five more soft toys in my bed, but these usually just lie around my pillow.

I can sleep in all kinds of positions depending on my mood, the temperature in my room, etc. I usually have the headboard of my bed turned up pretty high. When I can’t sleep, I also turn the other end up. Yes, I know, it sounds weird. I am so grateful for my adjustable bed though. It isn’t a given, since just after I’d gotten this one in like 2021, the higher-ups in my care agency decided that people who weren’t severely physically disabled, didn’t qualify for adjustable beds. They didn’t take away mine though, thank goodness.

Hi everyone. I’m feeling a little stressed out and, as it is past 9PM as I’m starting to write this post, I thought I’d share about my bedtime routine in order to get myself comfy and relaxed for bed.

Usually, the staff come by my room at around 9:45PM to help me get ready for bed, like get into my pajamas and brush my teeth. I usually leave my socks on, as I’ll often want to stay up a little longer. The evening shift here at my current care home ends at 10:30PM, so the staff usually say goodbye then too and turn off my light. In the care home I may move to on October 5, the evening shift ends at 10PM, so I may want to move my bedtime back a little.

I can go into bed by myself, but sometimes I want the staff to stand by while I go into bed. I will pull off my socks. Then, I’ll grab my iPhone if it’s sufficiently charged and select a Spotify playlist to play on my music pillow. The music pillow is connected to my iPhone via its lightning port (and a lightning-to-audio converter). I love the Harp Lullabies playlist, the Guitar Lullabies playlist or some albums by Robbins Island Music Group or Dan Gibson’s Solitudes. I most commonly set the sleep timer for an hour.

I sometimes will have an essential oil blend in my diffuser too. Some aren’t very suited to sleeping, but I know of a number of relaxing essential oil blends, four of which I shared before.

I have a weighted blanket, which I pull up over me almost till my chin. I also will grab ahold of one of my soft toys. Sometimes, I’ll lay the tail of the lemur over my chest, while at other times, I’ll hold the dolphin or unicorn.

Sometimes, I need to shift my sleeping position. I can sleep in every position except on my right side, but my preference will vary. Once I’ve found a comfortable position, I’ll likely doze off pretty quickly.

The night staff does come by at around 11:30PM to check on me. This is mostly to prevent me sitting up all night without anyone noticing. I can also press the call button if I can’t sleep, but of course other than try to comfort me, there is little the night staff can do. That being said, I sleep a lot better now that I have the weighted blanket, music pillow and essential oil diffuser than before I had all these.

My Current Night-Time Routine

My Bedtime Routine