What is a Nighttime Routine and How to Create one.

This entry is part 9 of 10 in the series Self Development Tools

Lately, there’s been much commotion about the importance of a healthy morning routine to start your day off on the right foot. But how can you possibly start your day off bright-eyed and bushy-tailed if you don’t get a proper night’s sleep? A consistent night routine is a game-changer. Most people are on auto-pilot, with technology and other people filling their minds and space until they crash into bed. When you understand the power of the mind, you begin realising how potent and important a night time routine can be for your quality of life. Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your soul, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.

What should my night routine be?

What is the best night routine? The one that works for YOU. The one that you look forward to doing. Again I repeat: do not do anything you don’t enjoy. Too many people try to exactly follow someone else’s way of doing things and then wonder why they can’t keep to it. Because it was never you in the first place. Pick from other’s ideas like fruit on a tree. Take what resonates and leave what doesn’t. This way, you’ll create a night routine that reflects who you are as a person, where you are in life, and what you specifically need.

How to create

Create a plan: What does your perfect night look like? Only you can know for sure exactly how your “dream night” would go. If reading is your magic nightcap, then schedule in reading time with an inspiring book before bed. Reading before bed is one of my mindset hacks. When you’re in bed getting a little drowsy, you’re dropping down into theta brainwaves. This means your subconscious mind is very receptive to receiving information. I will usually only read a few pages, but it’s enough to recenter my perspective before falling asleep. What time would be your ideal sleep time? Then make sure you’re setting enough time after dinner to prepare to be able to go to sleep at that time. It’s all about planning.

Lights and electronics: Try and power down all electronics 3-5 hours before bed. If you have a favourite show that’s after hours, record it to watch the next day at a decent hour. And this applies to computers, iPods, iPhones, and even podcasts. Let your body get into the natural rhythm of peaceful, quiet nights. Until the advent of artificial lighting, the sun was the major source of light. People spent their evenings in relative darkness. The body’s circadian rhythm evolved to respond to nature’s cyclical patterns of light and darkness. The sleep-signalling hormone melatonin, for example, is suppressed in the presence of light. While light of any kind can hinder the secretion of melatonin, blue light from electronic devices does so more powerfully. To synchronise your body with nature’s infinite intelligence, get plenty of sunshine during the day, then turn down the lights and power down devices an hour before bedtime. Use that pre-bedtime hour to read, reflect, meditate, and spend time with loved ones. Taking the time to incorporate relaxing activities before bedtime will help you to decompress before you fall asleep.

Prepare your bedroom: If you had royalty coming over to your house to sleep in your bed, how would you prepare the room? Candles, possibly? Incense, perhaps? Clean sheets and an immaculate room, definitely. Mess equals stress, so clean your room up before you go to bed to ensure a stress-free environment. Also, make sure to completely cover all windows so that your room is pitch black. Studies show that even the tiniest light from a clock or otherwise can decrease the production of melatonin (important for sleep and health!). So power everything down and unplug from the wall if you must. If you have any other lights on, make sure you have something to place over it so you can’t see the glow.

Stop Eating 2–3 Hours Prior to Bed: According to Ayurveda, the Kapha energies of earth and water become increasingly prominent between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. These dense energies will naturally slow the digestive process. Eating a large meal within two to three hours of bedtime can keep the body engaged in its “daytime” work of breaking down, assimilating, and disseminating nutrients. When the digestive process is still active, the production of sleep-inducing hormones (such as melatonin and somatotropin) may be delayed or diminished. By completing your evening meal two to three hours prior to bedtime, the body has time to shift from alert mode to rest mode, thus maximising the repair-and-rejuvenation window. If the urge to snack strikes between dinner and bedtime, opt for a cup of herbal tea instead. Unlike evening snacking, a cup of herbal tea can facilitate the release of sleep-inducing hormones without activating the digestive fire. Chamomile, passionflower, skullcap, lemon balm and lavender teas have all been shown to promote relaxation and restorative rest.

Take an Epsom salt bath: It’s a folk remedy to give children a bath before bed because it helps them sleep quicker and better through the night. Why is it that we don’t use that remedy for adults too? Place about a ½-1 cup Epsom salt in the bath. Epsom salts help relieve pain and inflammation and also contain magnesium—known to help with sleep. To enhance the soothing properties of water add a few drops of sleep-promoting essential oil in your bath. You can add essential oils such as lavender, vetiver, Roman chamomile, bergamot, sandalwood, marjoram, or cedarwood. The essential oil lavender, for example, is known to rapidly penetrate into the bloodstream where it delivers its powerful packages of cellular information. Ancient healing traditions have long used water as a means of cleansing the consciousness. Water is a universal symbol of purification. Water is known to soothe, calm, and settle both body and mind. To take advantage of water’s healing properties, take a warm bath and let it wash away any stress from the day. If there isn’t time in your evening routine for a bath, simply soak your feet in warm water for five to ten minutes. If you dont have a bath, I find it very soothing to have low lighting while I shower. A silent space with low lighting just helps me de-frazzle and relax. Every night, my shower alone is enough to help me reset. With the low lighting I’m able to instantly feel like the world is being kept at bay while I just take time to breathe.

Audio inspiration: I love to listen to something that resets my mind while showering. This is so powerful because we’re in our heads all day, and a shower can be a place where a lot of people get even further into their thoughts and worries. Putting on something that shifts your perspective back into place is priceless.

Visualization & deep breaths:

Add intention to your everyday routine habits. For instance in the shower, you can picture the water washing away your stresses, or imagine as you put on your lotion that you’re creating a positive barrier that will keep draining people and situations at bay. This is very stimulating for the creative mind and since your thoughts are energy waves, it’s extremely powerful in manifesting more ease and inner peace into your life. I personally love to envision the shower washing away all the stress and any mistakes I made. And every night no matter what, I like to take several deep breaths. We forget to really breathe so much of the day. Did you know that we are designed to release 70% of the toxins in our body through breathing?

When you exhale air from your body you release carbon dioxide that has been passed through from your bloodstream into your lungs. Carbon dioxide is a natural waste of your body’s metabolism. There are surprisingly so many benefits of deep breathing, like releasing tension, pain, emotional problems, and strengthening your immune system. Just stand in your shower and take several deep breaths. Work your way up to breathing in 7 seconds and breathing out 7 seconds, all through your nose.

Self-massage: How often do you say (or think) the words, “I need a massage”? Well, now there’s no excuse—you can do it yourself. Don’t just slap on the oil either. Take time on each and every area of the body with an organic oil and don’t forget to spend time on your feet.

Create a “dump” journal: And by “dump,” I mean dumping out the mind of any thoughts, worries, ideas, and ‘to do’ lists. If you’re busy thinking about what you have to get done tomorrow or if you’re afraid you won’t remember something, just jot it down so you can get your mind off it.

Try a gratitude exercise: You can keep a separate gratitude journal after you write in your “dump” journal. That way, you’re thinking of all the awesome things you’re thankful for before bed. Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.

Gentle yoga: You don’t want to break a sweat before bed, but some slow mindful stretches can help ease stress and get your body feeling better and prepared for lying still.

Meditate: Yoga is a preparation for meditation; and what better way to send you into a dream world? Meditation can help fight insomnia.Meditation provides deep relaxation and peace, leading to longer and better sleep.

Review Your Day: Whether you realise it or not, you are creating the narrative of your life. Each day provides content for your story. The lens through which you view that content will colour your life story in either positive or negative hues. By spending less time reviewing the challenges, problems, and uncertainties of your day and more time reflecting on the beauty, blessings, and serendipities, you will craft an inspiring and uplifting story. Take time to inventory your day, pausing to relive your positive moments. Give thanks for the good, letting your heart be permeated with gratitude. On the flip side, acknowledge challenges or conflicts, asking yourself what can be learned from them. Visualize your challenges, including the individuals in them, surrounded in white light. Then let your mind ruminate on the good that can come from the situation.

Repeat a Positive Affirmation: What you think about before you fall asleep influences your subconscious mind. In sleep, the conscious mind becomes secondary and the subconscious mind becomes primary. This is how unexpressed fears, hopes, and fantasies make their way into your dreams. While the subconscious mind can seem a bit elusive, it is actually quite easy to access. The period just before drifting off to sleep and again upon awakening, when the conscious mind is quiet, offers an open door to the subconscious mind. During this time you can change the programming of your subconscious mind by repeating affirmations. Use an affirmation like a mantra, repeating it gently over and over. Allow the gentle repetition to continue as you drift off to sleep. Below are a few affirmations to get you started:

“Nothing can disturb the calm peace of my soul.”

“I release resistance to what is. I am light and free.”

“I am full of love, grace, and forgiveness.”

“I radiate love, kindness, and compassion to all those who cross my path.”

“I accept with calm impartiality whatever comes my way. Free in my heart, I am not conditioned by any outward circumstance.”

Breathing: Relieve any last stress and melt into my sheets through a few rounds of breath. This is one of the best ways I know how to help me sleep. I focus on envisioning that I am breathing in feelings of warmth + peace (about 7 seconds), holding for about 4 seconds, and then breathing out all stress and worry (for about a count of 8 seconds).

Prepare for the Next Day: A peaceful morning begins the night before. It is hard to unwind and rest once it’s time to sleep if your mind is brooding over the following morning’s to-do list. With a little preparation, you can allay concerns for tomorrow and set yourself up for a productive, peaceful day. Before turning in for the night, spend a few minutes in preparation for tomorrow.

Set out your clothes.
Fill up your water bottle.
Prepare breakfast and lunch.
Organize your personal space(s).
Pack up your purse and bag.

You may be surprised at how much better you rest by simply shifting a few morning tasks to the night before. To set yourself up for maximum productivity the following day, you might try the following method. Each night, write down the six most important tasks that you need to accomplish the following day. Limit yourself to no more than six. Then prioritize those tasks in order of importance. When tomorrow arrives, start at the top of your list and get to work completing one task at a time. As simple as this method sounds, it has a remarkable capacity to eliminate decision fatigue and invoke clarity. This method will allow you to experience a restful sleep knowing that you are prepared to enter the next day with purpose and intention.

An example of a wellness nighttime routine

Every night, a notification appears on my phone: Bedtime Routine. That daily reminder sets off a series of actions that have changed my evenings for the better and when my evenings are better, my mornings are better. A simple and repeatable evening routine has profound effects on the quality of my whole day. It improves my sleep, reduces my anxiety, and increases my productivity. Do I follow this routine every single night without fail? No, of course not. Life can be unpredictable, and being able to roll with surprise and uncertainty is just as important as having rituals to fall back on. I’m not perfect and my life doesn’t always cooperate, but I’ve noticed that the more disciplined I am in the two hours before falling asleep each night, the more I benefit, so it’s worth making the effort.

My evening routine goes something like this:

Turn off access to news and social media.
Perform skin care and hygiene.
Lower lights.
Change into pyjamas.
Meditate and/or read.
Lights out and sleep.

A consistent evening routine offers more rewards than just better sleep, though. It provides a soothing rhythm to the end of the day that calms the mind and simplifies habit formation. My nighttime routine is something I’ve been working on for a long time, trying to pin down exactly what rituals I value enough to be part of my *sacred * and oh so important wind-down time before bed. I’m sure I don’t need to reiterate HOW IMPORTANT sleep is, and so creating routines and rituals that help you to relieve stress, unwind, and clear your mind for the night ahead is truly essential for making the most of your shut eye. My hope is that you do not feel overwhelmed by this routine, but rather that it is something that will inspire you to try and incorporate a few key habits into your evening for the chance to reconnect with yourself. Remember, You by no means need to do all or even any of these. Life happens. It is very unlikely that every night will look like this (if yours does I’m jealous).

Disclaimer: I feel like we truly live in an idealist society; with people presenting you hundreds of ideas of things you *should be doing, all of which can instead unfortunately cause feelings of inadequacy and subsequent inaction. I recognized this pressure in myself when I noticed I was consistently being hard on myself about my routines.You have permission to let go of what I *should be doing* and instead focus on what I want to be doing and what serves me best.

Ideas for a self care evening

Self Care Evening Routine Ideas:

Put on your favourite, cosy jammies

Drink soothing herbal tea, like chamomile

Listen to a relaxing music playlist

Use relaxing fragrances at night, like candles or essential oils. (try lavender or sandalwood)

Write in your journal

Prep for tomorrow morning

Take a warm bath or shower

Celebrate the day’s accomplishments

Do your spiritual practice

Enjoy gentle yoga or stretches