So I kept hearing about this O Ya Su Mi thing for sleep, right? Figured it was just another trend – but my sleep was crap. Waking up at 3 AM brain buzzing, feeling like a zombie all day. Gotta try something.
Starting Point: Total Nighttime Mess
Before O Ya Su Mi? My “routine” was a joke.
- No wind-down: Scrolling phone in bed till midnight? Sure!
- Coffee anytime: 4 PM latte? Why not!
- Lights full blast: Bright overhead lights until literally hopping into bed.
- Weekend chaos: Friday and Saturday nights? Midnight movie marathons. Sunday night panic.
Yeah. Predictable disaster. Felt wired but tired constantly.
Actually Doing the O Ya Su Mi Thing
Okay, time to get real. Read some stuff, kinda merged ideas into my own version. Here’s the raw play-by-play:
Step 1: The “Unplug” Ritual (Starts at 9:30 PM)
Set a phone timer. At 9:30, that’s it. No more screens. Phone goes on the charger across the room. Laptop closed. TV off. Felt weird, awkward. Like what do I DO? Started simple:
- Dimmed ALL the lights. Seriously. Used lamps with warm bulbs.
- Brewed some lame herbal tea (chamomile? Tasted like grass water at first).
- Just sat sometimes. Listened to… silence? Or crappy quiet piano music.
First few nights? My brain was screaming. Wanted my phone. Wanted noise.
Step 2: The Physical Bit (Around 10 PM)
Read somewhere gentle stretching helps. Did some ultra-basic stuff for maybe 5 minutes:
- Slow neck rolls (felt stiff).
- Cat-cow thing on the rug.
- Reaching arms up like a yawn. Actually made me yawn sometimes!
Not fancy yoga. Just moving slowly. Trying not to think about work emails.
Step 3: Dumping the Brain Junk (10:15 PM)
This part sucked but became crucial. Grabbed an actual notebook.
- Wrote down anything stressing me. “Project deadline Tuesday”, “Call mom”, “Weird noise car?”
- Jotted ONE thing I felt okay about that day. Even tiny stuff. “Made tea instead of coffee at 4.”
Closing the notebook felt like shutting a drawer on the noise.
Step 4: Getting Horizontal (10:30 PM)
Into bed with a boring book (no thrillers!). Reading under a very dim lamp. Actual paper pages. Felt ancient. But honestly? Started zoning out after 10-15 pages most nights. Eyes heavy. Put the book down. Rolled over. Lights out. Way earlier than I was used to.
Finding THAT Rhythm (It Took Weeks!)
First Week: Felt rigid. Almost gave up. Still woke up at night sometimes. But the quiet was… calmer?
Week Two: Herbal tea started tasting less like grass? Weird. Started craving the dim lights. Notebook dumping got quicker.
Week Three & Beyond: THIS is where it kicked in.
- Waking up naturally before the alarm sometimes. Felt surreal.
- Morning fog lifted way faster. Didn’t need three cups of coffee to feel human.
- Actual deep sleep! Like, slept through heavy rain storms.
The rhythm isn’t military. Some nights later if out. But the core steps? They stick. My body just seems to know now. The dim lights signal sleep. The quiet piano track? Knocks me out. It’s my own O Ya Su Mi groove.
Biggest takeaway? It wasn’t magic. It was brutal consistency at first. Building tiny habits. Screwing up, starting over. But finding that night rhythm? Absolutely changed the day game. Worth every second staring at the wall instead of my phone.