Historically speaking, I’m a terrible sleeper. I've lost count of the number of times I've gone to bed early just to lie there and consider all the world's problems, along with my own, until suddenly it's 4AM and I might as well get up for the day. Lately it’s been better: I turn my phone off in the evening, I'll eat a Lord Jones CBD gummy, read, and then take a dose of melatonin a little while before I want to fall sleep. It's a routine that actually works, thank God, and most nights I fall asleep like I imagine a normal person does—within minutes, not hours.

Everything was going so well with my sleep routine. That is, until I woke up to my phone ringing on a Monday and it’s my boss asking if I’m planning to come to work that day or if I am dead, because it’s noon and I’ve been asleep for more than 12 hours.

One of the few perks of being a terrible sleeper is that I'm typically awake long before I need to be. Sleeping through my alarm hasn't happened in years. The experience, which left me in a highly disoriented state and from which I’m still recovering—might have been because of the weather (gloomy), or the time change (daylight fuckin’ savings) or because of a liiiittle too much CBD (those gummies are maybe too delicious). I also remembered that I took a double dose of melatonin the night before. I figured that must be it. But after a conversation with a pharmacist friend, I came to three other conclusions. I’m here to tell them to you because when I broke out like crazy on my chin last week, at least six people in my office did too. Basically, we are all in this together. If you’re tired too, this little ditty’s for you:

Hydrate

Drinking lots of water is really important for a lot of reasons, but did you know that if you don’t drink water at all, you will die? Thinking back, the day before this occurrence, I don’t remember drinking more than a single glass of water the whole day. That’s really bad! With probably no blood left in my brain by morning, my 6AM alarm was never gonna cut it. I'm happy to report that I drank an unimaginable amount of water the following day. And I woke up to my alarm this morning.

Exercise

Maybe it’s just me and maybe it’s science, but when I’m exercising every day—especially in the morning—I find it’s a lot easier to get to sleep on time and to wake up on time. The weather in New York hasn’t been conducive to morning runs, but it will be soon. I’ve found that regular exercise (and sweating, specifically), also minimizes the number of breakouts I get, so physical fitness is a win-win. Walking counts.

Don't Ignore The Signs

The body knows what it needs. Don't ignore the headaches, the body aches, the bloodshot eyes, the undereye bags, the inability to think straight. When you're feeling these things, your body is simply trying to let you know it's time to lie down. Get some rest! Take care of yourself. Things are easier when you do.

—Anna Jube

Photo via Getty.

Now that you're good at sleeping, optimize your skincare overnight, too.