Often when I talk about the Power Hour and about getting up early in the morning, the first question that I get asked is, “What time do you go to bed?’ To be honest I used to be a night owl and I’d stay up until at least midnight every night, but you can’t stay up late and get up early. Sleep deprivation is not the one! So, I had to re asses my bedtime. These days I get into bed before 10pm every night. At first it was so difficult to be disciplined, I felt like I was cutting my evenings short and like I was missing out. I’d either be on my laptop, watching TV, scrolling through social media or doing all three! Let’s be honest, non of these things are helping me to live a happier, healthier life. (Although the world is a much funnier place now that we have Twitter memes)
So, I made a vow to go to bed before 10:00pm every night for one week. I even set an alarm on my phone for 9:40pm as a reminder. By the end of that I week, I felt like I was walking on sunshine!! I was getting up at 5:45am in the morning, my body felt rested and my mind felt clearer.

Since then I’ve become fascinated with the benefits of rising early and the benefits of sleep. If you haven’t already read Mathew Walker’s ‘Why We Sleep‘, then I highly recommend that you check it out. I’ve discovered that a lot of mega successful people have a structured night and morning routine. Arianna Huffington, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg, Olympic athletes, world leaders and even Albert Einstein have all talked about their morning rituals. So now I’m on a mission to help people reclaim their own time.

The modern world demands a lot of our time and attention but we don’t have to be slaves to our schedules and we don’t have to be plugged in 24/7.

I now prioritise the last hour and the first hour of each day to recharge, de-stress, prepare, read, stretch, write… basically do whatever I want to do.

The first thing I do when I get home is change into some loose comfy clothes, I can’t relax in a pair of jeans.

Then it’s all about food. I’m usually the cook in our house and I love being in the kitchen. I listen to a podcast or playlist whilst I’m chopping veggies and prepping dinner.

After dinner and once Jude’s in bed it’s about 8:00pm. That’s when I’ll catch up with Rob and debrief about the day and I might finish any work that I need to do.

By 9:00pm I’m unplugged and offline. The laptop is off and my phone goes on silent.

Then I get my notebook and this is one of my favourite things to do each day, I start writing lists. I write a To- Do list for the next day. This list is limited to eight things. I then write a list of ideas. This can be anything from a trip that I want to book, a person that I want to send an email to, a blog post that I want to write. I just get them all down on paper so that they are no longer clogging up space in my head. (I have a really great journal from TheDearDiary.com)

Then I write down three things …

1. What have you learnt today?
2. What are you happy about today?
3. Who have you helped today?

Writing these lists has honestly become my favourite part of the day, I thank God for the people and the things in my life, and no matter what’s going on, it really makes you feel grateful for your life.

Next, I have a 10 minute hair / skin care routine…

I add a little bit of Charlotte Mensah Manketti oil to my hair, I twist it and wrap it with a silk head scarf. Wrapping your hair is a game changer for textured hair, especially in the winter. It protects the curl pattern and keeps your hair soft.

Then, I take off my make up and wash my face, using Origins Checks & Balances face wash. Then I moisturise with either Origins Night-A-Mins cream or Drink Up Night Mask. The Night-A-Mins cream is a recent discovery and it is SO GOOD! It makes my skin look like I’ve had a facial. Honestly, it’s a little pot of magic!

Lastly, I spend about five minutes stretching and nasal breathing.

Depending on how my body is feeling, if I’ve been running a lot that week then often I’ll focus on stretching my legs, hips and lower back. I don’t have a specific stretch routine, I just move around and I hold each position for a few deep breathes.

I get into bed before 10:00pm and I feel so calm and relaxed. I don’t need to think too much about what I’ve gotta do tomorrow because I’ve written it all down. Now that it’s getting dark earlier and it’s colder outside, it feels so nice to be hibernating in bed. Rob and I both go to bed at the same time. He has always been pretty good at getting to bed early. His epilepsy medication makes him super tired if he stays up too late. For years Rob would go up to bed whilst I was still downstairs on my laptop. I feel kinda smug now, when I’m in bed before him.

Of course there are sometimes exceptions to my routine, if I’m out late at an event for example, but 90% of the time I stick to it. It’s the only way that I can get up everyday before 6am, feeling energised and ready to take on the day!

As always you can hit me up on social media @adrienne_LDN I’d love to know what time you go to bed, especially if you’re an early riser like me.