It turns out they were right. The whole time. Assholes. I’ve been doing a pretty consistent midnight to 9-9:30 for a couple of months, no screens in my bedroom, just a nightly podcast. And I’m usually asleep inside half an hour. Sometimes well inside. I still sometimes wake up during the night but that’s mainly cos of painful crampy legs from working on my feet all day.
I regret to report that sleep hygiene is in fact a thing.
Yeh I wouldn’t say it’s been a super noticeable effect on my waking life (although I’m sure it has been and I just haven’t observed it gradually taking place), but the fact that my two nightly options aren’t “pass out drunk” or “toss and turn for 1-3 hours before sleep” alone is pretty fucking good tbh.