Night Routine: The Ultimate Guide To A Healthy, Productive Night Routine
Just like a morning routine, having a night routine can be extremely beneficial for a healthy, productive lifestyle. Night routines typically include calming self-care activities that you do every night that last no longer than an hour or two at most.
Night routines can include anything like yoga, meditation, journaling, reading, skincare, or even a to-do list for the next day.
If you are one of those people who hop into bed at the end of the day and endlessly scroll through social media until you go to sleep or someone who snacks while they watch TV until they doze off, you are negatively impacting your lifestyle.
There are plenty of things that you might be doing before going to bed, that most of you don’t realize can be bad for you. In this post, you will get a night routine breakdown and some ideas to help inspire you when creating your own night routine.
Table of Contents
Why You Should Have A Night Routine
The recommended amount of sleep is seven or more hours of sleep every night, for the average adult. The amount can vary depending on age and lifestyle but regardless, not enough sleep can be harmful to your health.
Whatever you do in the evening has a huge impact on being able to fall asleep or stay asleep.
Once you establish habits, your brain will start to recognize the process and automatically follow through. So if you form a bedtime routine by doing the same activities every night before you go to sleep, your brain will become accustomed to things, and falling asleep will come easier and faster.
Having a night routine can also give you time to relax and focus on important, self-care things and gives your mind time to wander as opposed to leaving thoughts unchecked which can eventually turn into stress and anxiety.
Attempting to go to sleep with lingering thoughts can cause a restless night.
Before going to bed is an ideal time to review what you achieved that day and also allows time for you to prep for the next day. Writing your thoughts can help lessen stress and anxiety.
Benefits Of Having A Night Routine
- Night routines allow you to destress from the day and get you prepared for the next day.
- Conducting a routine at the end of the day will help clear your mind and body and allow you to focus on yourself and self-care priorities resulting in relaxation.
- A huge percentage of people do not get enough sleep, so sleep anxiety, insomnia, and other sleep disorders are common. Forming a daily night routine will allow you to relax and sleep BETTER for LONGER.
- Having a night routine is not just important sleep-wise, but it boosts your performance and increases your productivity the next day. After running around all day, you can slow down and focus on the important stuff.
- The great thing about having a night routine is that it is catered to you. It’s all about what you need and is beneficial for your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
Tips For Creating A Great Night Routine
- DECIDE ON A BEDTIME: Your brain starts to wind down a couple of hours before your bedtime, so a night routine can make the sleep-wake cycle more effective. Your brain will naturally feel tired once you form a consistent sleep routine. Set an alarm! SCHEDULE TIMES THEN COMMIT. Bedtime / Wake up time / Night routine length (30mins-2hrs ideally)
- MINIMIZE ELECTRONIC USE: Most electronics emit blue light, which can fool the brain into thinking it’s daytime. This can cause the brain to think it’s awake by suppressing melatonin production. (melatonin=hormone that encourages sleep). Limiting electronic use can further the process of relaxing your brain. Utilize the “Do Not Disturb” settings on your phone and take a break from tv. *Your Netflix shows and Instagram feed will still be there tomorrow
- SET THE MOOD: Changing your environment earlier in the evening signals your body to start adjusting to prepare for sleep. Dimming the lights or using candles is one way to set the mood. Just like electronics, lights can also produce blue light, which can make it more difficult to fall asleep. Lowering the thermostat helps the body go into “hibernation mode”. Personally, it feels amazing to have a cool, dark room to cozy up under blankets and fall asleep in. (Just thinking about it makes me want to take a nap)
- PREPARE FOR THE NEXT DAY: Getting a head start and preparing for tomorrow’s tasks can increase your productivity a lot. Preparing for the next day can lessen the feeling of being rushed in the mornings, and give you extra time to focus on other things. It can also give you peace of mind and encourage relaxation by decreasing stress and anxiety knowing you are already on track for tomorrow.
- EAT LIGHT & HEALTHY: Eating heavy, late-night meals can negatively affect your sleep quality and metabolism which can lead to weight gain. Eating light and healthy options later in the day (way before bedtime), can boost your melatonin levels. Drinking something warm like chamomile tea has been shown to promote sleep.
- WASH-OFF STRESS: Taking a shower or bath towards the end of the day can help you wash the day off and allow you to start “fresh” in the morning. Taking a shower or bath can help relax the mind and body, and also lowers the body temperature which aids in going to sleep. Even if you prefer your showers in the morning, showering or bathing at night gives you time to do things like facial masks, shaving, body scrubs, hair treatment, and whatever things you may not have time for in the morning.
- CREATE A BEDTIME PLAYLIST: Having a bedtime playlist can help set the mood and lets your brain know you will be sleeping soon. Listening to relaxing music can help you mentally and emotionally detach from the day and encourage sleep. If you don’t know what to listen to, r&b, instrumental, jazz, lofi/indie, or noises like rainfall, thunderstorm, ocean, or jungle, are good places to start. *Pick whatever type of music you want, as long as its on the relaxing side and not upbeat music that gets you going
- LOW IMPACT ACTIVITIES: Low impact exercises like walking, yoga, and meditation, are all very calming, grounding activities. These can help you destress, focus on your breathing, loosen up your muscles and relax your body and mind for sleep. *Even with these light, low-impact activities, you should finish them an hour or so before bedtime.
- SENSES: Aromatherapy/Essential oils can be very beneficial to a good night’s sleep. Soothing fragrances like lavender and cedarwood can help with stress, aid in restful sleep, and calm and relax the mind and body. You can always use a diffuser or put a few drops in your bath or on your pillow before bed.
Night Routine Ideas
JOURNAL (thoughts/ideas/review of the day)
READ/AUDIOBOOKS/PODCASTS
MAKE A TO-DO LIST
PREP/TIDY ROOM
MEDITATION/BREATHING EXERCISES
SUDOKU/DRAWING/PUZZLES
PAMPER: FACIAL/NAILS/HAIR MASK
YOGA/STRETCHING/FOAM ROLLING
FAMILY TIME (partner/kids/pets)
MAKE TEA (chamomile/caffeine free)
MEAL PREP
Hopefully, this article gave you a deeper understanding of night routines and why it is important to have one.
When creating your night routine, your primary goal should be choosing things that help you take care of yourself, wind down and relax, and tasks that make things easier for you by increasing your productivity.
It will probably take some trial and error to find out what works best for you. If you’re not used to having one, stay persistent until it becomes a habit. Things may seem forced at first, but once you start to see and feel the benefits, you will probably come to love it and look forward to it.
Let us know in the comments what your current night routine is and what you want to add or eliminate!
ADMIN
Latest posts by ADMIN (see all)
- 9 Cozy Mystery Books You’ll Love – Perfect for Chilly Nights - December 5, 2024
- 9 Top Unbelievably Stunning Fall Destinations for Ultimate Cozy Autumn Bliss - October 31, 2024
- 14 Vital Immune-Boosting Hacks For A Resilient Winter & Holiday Season - October 26, 2024
Fantastic and practical tips to have a night routine. Thanks for putting this very helpful post together!
Thank you so much for this guide! i haven’t been sticking to a night-time routine lately and I don’t have one at the moment. I’m excited to try your suggestions to get back on track.
Establishing a consistent night routine is key to better sleep and productivity 🙂. Thanks for sharing these helpful tips ❤️.
Having a good rountine is so important! These definitely will be useful tips I think! Thanks for sharing this with us!
I don’t have a night routine as such but I usually do certain things every night. Well I stand corrected, maybe I do have a routine. I just need to enrich and add to this routine. Thank you so much for the amazing ideas.
Having a routine has really helped me go to sleep when I want to sleep! There are lots of great advise in this.
I am one of those you referred to as someone who hops on the bed and endlessly scrolls through social media accounts. Washing off stress is what I need. Burning essential oil would help too.
It really does help a lot to have some sort of nightly routine. I try and stick to one, it includes a skincare regime and trying to wind down from technology.
I have a lose bedtime routine but it isn’t always exactly the sleep time (although usually within the 9-10pm timeframe). It is important to have routine though x
I need to change the way I approach the evening hours. I need to get myself more prepared for sleep.
I need to try these tips. I generally roll straight into bed from watching TV, and that has not been working for me.
I love my bed time routine. I like journaling and I also listen to subluminals and have white sound on. I sleep much better.
Awesome post! So many people struggle with sleeping, these are some great ideas to create a routine that works for them that sets them up for a great and productive next day.
Great post. I’ve been working on maintaining a morning routine with the intention of improving my evening routine soon. It’s so hard because I’m always exhausted by then and tend to skip things. I’m working on putting my phone down an hour beforehand but sometimes it’s harder than others.
Night time is so important, these tips will definitely help
The guide is the best! Thank you so so much…I need to start a healthy night and morning routines, these are important.
I have a set night routine of about half an hour, and it involves things like skincare, brushing my teeth, but also cuddling my cat
I have to admit, my night routine is bad – I watch tiktok, play some logic games and check emails since I work in different time zone
I need a better nighttime routine than scrolling on my phone until I fall asleep. Thank you for sharing! I’ll have to start incorporating some of these habits into my routine.
That’s really helpful, thanks for this amazing Content