Some evenings are basically a trap in soft lighting. The day’s done, technically. Maybe the kettle’s on if you’re a tea drinker, you’ve got the whole relaxing bed set up, you’ve got some super cute pyjamas that are doing their job, and so clearly, this is the perfect setup for a calm night, right? Like so calm, maybe you can just drift off to sleep. Well, no, except your brain’s still acting like it’s got tabs open. It’s not even always obvious at first, because the evening looks relaxing. There’s no big stressful task happening. Nobody’s running around doing loads of things.
But somehow there’s still a phone in your hand, a show playing that’s a bit too intense, three messages sitting unanswered, tomorrow’s to-do list floating around, and maybe a little “quick check” of something that absolutely did not need checking at 10:46 pm. Oh, and to top it off, for whatever reason, you’re randomly thinking back on something cringey or downright embarrassing thing you said or did that was years ago, and you should have been past it now. Like, brain, what gives? What’s going on?
Your Phone is Probably Doing too Much
Well, chances are, it’s doing most of the issues here, because people use their phone to decompress, which makes sense, but that light from the phone keeps you awake. But on top of that, the other problem is that the content you’re viewing is probably too stimulating too. But yeah, for whatever reason, though, the annoying thing about scrolling is that it feels like rest. It’s low effort, it’s easy, and after a long day, it feels very deserved, right? Just a few videos, a few posts, a tiny little browse. But your phone isn’t winding you down, it’s wiring you up; most screens are, so it might be time to ditch them.
Is Your Workday Leaking into the Night?
There’s “finished work,” and then there’s finished work. Because yeah, the laptop might be shut, but if emails are still being checked, tomorrow’s tasks are still being mentally rearranged, and one message from earlier is still sitting in the brain being annoying, the day hasn’t really ended. Some people know how they do it, but like some people manage totally fine, like work is out of their mind the second it hits 5, good for them, but that’s not how it works for most people, though.
And yes, in general, though, that half-work mode is exhausting because it doesn’t feel productive enough to count as working, but it also doesn’t feel restful enough to count as relaxing. It’s just this weird middle space where the brain keeps hovering near responsibility.
But What’s Your Routine?
Yeah, by all means, here, a warm drink, a bath, soft lighting, a little stretching, all lovely. Honestly, great. Some people also add CBD into their evening routine once they’re already looking at things like caffeine, screen time, stress, and sleep habits. But just keep in mind if you add extras, be it CBD or whatever else, just don’t expect them to magically fix why you’re wired. Again, if you’re on your phone, if you’re consuming stimulated content, if you’re working or have work on the mind, well, anything stressful on the mind, well, it won’t work.
