For exhausted men checking their super balance and thinking, โWhen will this end?โ or for women staggering through perimenopause, sleep becomes elusive when you need it most. So Michelleโs revelation isnโt a sound bite. Itโs permission to see sleep as survival.
The wellness industry tries to sell us complicated solutions. Expensive retreats, routines, supplements. Nobody needs more โme timeโ nonsense wrapped in overpriced self-care. We need a bed and the brains to use it when our body โ not social convention โ says itโs time.
Thereโs nothing as good as an early night.
Thereโs something quietly rebellious about it. Thanks to the tiny computer in our hands, everyone is endlessly available โ to partners, kids, bosses, parents, friends. Turning in early is a fabulous boundary. It says, โIโm done for today. Youโll all live.โ And they will. They always do.
Gwyneth Paltrowโs in on the act too. Curfew at hers? 9pm sharp. Dinner starts at 6.30pm and if you miss the memo, just cast your eye to her soft furnishings. She has a cushion embroidered with โPlease leave by 9.โ No ambiguity. No guilt.
Gen Z were early adopters, showcasing early bedtime routines on TikTok while the adults ran around doing chores. Last year, the average bedtime for these young adults was 10.06pm, down 12 minutes from a year earlier. Good call, Fortune found, noting that early bedtimes can โprofoundly affectโ physical and mental health for the better.
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Michelle says Barack teases her about her early nights, but sheโs not budging. Sheโll hold court when there are guests, but โthe minute we finish up, Iโm trying not to go to bed before the sun goes downโ.
Michelle even reminisced about getting her daughters to bed by 7.30 so she could have a few hours when no one needed anything. I used to do the same. My kids never saw dark skies until they were 10. Even in year 12, lights out was 9.30.
And while that resonates for anyone whoโs ever longed for a moment of quiet, itโs what Michelle is saying now, as an empty nester. Thatโs liberating. You donโt have to be the last person standing.
Michelle and Gwyneth donโt care how daggy early nights look. Theyโre normalising what many of us crave. Prioritising personal peace over people pleasing. Saying early bedtime isnโt admitting defeat but claiming victory.
Letโs make it cool to bow out early. Letโs stop glorifying exhaustion and take our cues from one of the worldโs most respected women. Long live the 8pm bedtime revolution. Or 7. Iโm not picky.
Kate Halfpenny is the founder of Bad Mother Media.
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