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Sleep the Night Before: Practical Wind-Down Routines

Prep

You do not need perfect sleep before a bungee jump. You need sleep that is not sabotaged on purpose.

Anticipation will mess with some people no matter what. That is a normal stress response, not a prophecy that you will freeze.[5] Still: short sleep makes decisions worse, emotions louder, and motion feelings easier to trigger.[2]

High tower site the day of a jump — wind-down the night before so you can follow the brief
Photo: LN9267 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Shut down admin before bed

Give yourself 45–60 minutes of dimmer lights and fewer arguments with your phone. Lay out clothes. Charge devices. Confirm pickup or drive time earlier in the evening so bed is not an office.[1][3]

Decide your platform rule while calm: after final checks and countdown, you jump on their call; until then you can still say no. Write it if you have to. Do not invent the rule while six people are filming you.

Caffeine, alcohol, and dinner

Cut caffeine earlier than usual if you are sensitive — late coffee is a classic own-goal.[1] Alcohol may make you drowsy then fragment sleep. It is also a bad idea before a judgment-and-coordination morning; operators refuse intoxicated participants.[4]

Dinner: satisfying, not heroic. Grease bombs and brand-new spice challenges can still be with you at 8 a.m.

Screens and spiral content

Doomscrolling accident videos is not “research.” It is rehearsal for panic. If you want process knowledge, read the operator’s own FAQ and stop. Bright phones in bed also delay sleep for a lot of people — boring but true hygiene advice.[1]

One quiet show you already know beats a new horror series.

If you still sleep badly

You can still jump if you feel clear enough to listen, answer medical questions honestly, and follow instructions. Show up on time so you are not sprinting on pure cortisol — many sites want you early for a reason.[4]

If you are a wreck — dizzy, sick, cannot track a simple brief — say so. Another day exists. A no-show refund rule may still sting; that is still better than a compromised jump.[4]

Bottom line: wind down, cut late caffeine and alcohol, finish logistics early, and accept imperfect sleep. Protect the next morning’s clear head. Everything else is optional.

Sources

  1. CDC: tips for better sleep
  2. NIH / NHLBI: sleep deprivation and deficiency
  3. AJ Hackett Bungy NZ: how to prepare for a bungy activity
  4. AJ Hackett Bungy NZ: FAQs (arrive on time, sober policy)
  5. Harvard Health: understanding the stress response

Image credits

  • Photo: Linn, Royan M. / Wikimedia Commons (public domain) — site hero asset
  • Photo: LN9267 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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