Weveallheardthestoriesaboutthemegasuccessfulwhowakeupearlyevery

dayandconquertheworldbeforemostpeopleputthecoffeeon.Butwhat
abouttheothertimeofdaythatplaysanequallyimportantrole?Whatare
successfulpeopledoingrightbeforebed?Doyouwanttoknowthesecret?
Theysetthemselvesuptohaveanevenmoreproductivedaytomorrow.

Herearesixbedtimehabitsofhighlysuccessfulpeople.

1.Readforanhour

MicrosoftbillionaireBillGatesisanavidreader.Eachnightbeforebed,he
spendsanhourreadingabook,rangingontopicsfrompoliticstocurrent
events.

Asidefromtheobviousbenefitsofgainingnewknowledge,readingdailyhas
alsobeenshowntoreducestressandimprovememory.A2009studyfrom
theUniversityofEssexrevealedthatreadingforaslittleassixminutesaday
canreducestresslevelsbyupto68%.

Anotherbigbenefitfromcrackingopenagoodbookonanightlybasisisthat
itcanimprovethelongtermhealthofyourbrain.Everytimeyouread,itslike
amentalworkoutforyourmind.ThisstudyperformedinBritainshowedthat
peoplewhostimulatedtheirmindsthroughactivitieslikereading,reduced
cognitivedeclinebyanaverageof32%astheygotolderinage.

2.Unplug

Afterpassingoutfromexhaustionandinjuringherheadtothetuneoffive
stitches,AriannaHuffingtonhasbeenanevangelistforunplugging.Every
nightbeforebed,sheputsherphoneinanotherroomsoshesnotdistracted
byitbeforebed.Andscienceprovesthatshemightbeontosomething.
AccordingtoDrCharlesCzeisler,aprofessorofsleepmedicineatHarvard
University,thebrightlightsproducedbyourcellphonescreensdisruptour
bodiesnaturalsleeprhythmandactuallytrickourbodiesintothinkingits
daytime.Thosebrightlightssendamessagetoourbrainsthatprevents
certainchemicalsfrombeingreleased,causingustohaveamuchhardertime
goingtosleep.So,ifyouwantagoodnightsrest,stashyourphoneinanother
room.

3.Takeawalk

ThebusyCEOofBufferlikestounwindwithabriskwalkrightbeforebed.He
useshiswalkstoturnoffhisthoughtsaboutwork,andslowlyworkhisself
intoastateoftiredness.

Forabusypersonalwaysonthego,Joelslatenightwalkroutinecouldbe
perfectwaytounwindafterastressfulday.Andasidefromtheobvioushealth
benefitsofdailywalk,thereacoupleofsurprisingbonusesthatcomealongas
well.

Onestudyrevealedthatwalkingcanincreasecreativity.Whenyourewalking,
yourmindisntworkingasvigorously,whichopensupthefreeflowofideas.
Soifyouvegotatoughproblemyouhaventbeenabletosolve,maybeanice,
nighttimestrollisallyouneedtofindtheperfect,creativesolution.

4.Meditate

Themediamavenhaslongsupportedtheideaofregularmeditation.No
doubt,Ms.Winfreyhasaschedulethatkeepshermightybusy,andwhat
betterwaytounwindattheendofastressfulday,thanwithafocused
meditationsession.

Theresoftentimesastigmasurroundingmeditation,andtherehasalways
beenadebateastowhethermediationisactuallyhelpful.Butwhena2014
studytookalookatover19,000casesinvolvingmediation,theresultswere
clear.Meditationwasfoundtohelpreducestress,anxiety,depression,and
pain.Soregardlessofonesviewofmediation,youcantarguewiththe
results.

5.Getcreative

In2006,VeraWangstatedtoFortunethathernightlyroutineincludes,afair
amountofdesigningatleastconceptuallyifnotliterally.Sometimes,the
quietofthenightcanbetheperfectremedyforacreativeblock.

Whatsevenmoresurprisingisthattheresastudythatactuallyshowsnight
timecanbetheperfecttimeforcreativity,evenifyouretiredfromalong
day.AstudyfromAlbionCollegerevealedthat,tasksrequiringcreative
insightwasconsistentlybetterduringtheirnonoptimaltimesofday..

Soifyoureamorningperson(raiseshand),thenyourmostcreativeideaswill
comerightbeforebed.Researchersbelievethisistruebecauseyourmindis
lessrestrainedatnight.Yourabilitytomakelogicalconnectionsworsens,but
itworksinyourfavorbecauseyoureabletomakeconnectionsyouwouldnt
havebeenabletootherwise.
6.Planthenextday

TheAmericanExpressCEOlikestomanagehistime,andhedoessoby
endinghisnightsinaverysimpleway.Heplansoutthreethingshewantsto
accomplishforthefollowingday.Thatway,hecanwakeupinthemorning,
andgettoworkonhismostimportanttasks,rightaway.

Thisstudyfromtheearly90ssupportsChenaultsstrangeaddictionwith
planning.Researchersfollowedagroupofstudentsfromtheirhighschool
years,untilfouryearslaterattheendoftheircollegecareers.Theresearchers
testedthesestudentsontheirtimemanagementskillsinhighschool,and
whentheycaughtupwiththosestudentsfouryearslater,theymadea
shockingdiscovery.

Thestudentswithbettertimemanagementskills,hadhighercollegeGPAs
thentheirpeerswhohadhigherSATscores.Basically,timemanagement
playedabiggerroleintheiracademicsuccessthanactualscholasticaptitude.

Featuredphotocredit:oninnovationviaflickr.com

Setagoalforyourself

"Failureisunavoidableinourlives.ButifI
canlearnsomethingfromiteverytime,the
chanceofsuccesswillonlyincrease."