How to Create an Evening Routine for a Good Night’s Sleep

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The average adult needs about seven to nine hours of sleep a night. However, nearly 35% of adults say they are getting less than seven hours of sleep at night. 

Imagine, after a long day, you get into bed. You might scroll through your social media for a few minutes or check your email. 

After a while, you check the time, and it’s getting late. Time for bed. You close your eyes, and suddenly, you’re wide awake and can’t get to sleep.

If you feel too wound up to fall asleep at night, it might help to set up a nighttime routine. An evening routine can help you relax and get your body and mind ready for a good night’s sleep.

Want to learn more? Keep reading to learn tips for setting up an evening routine. 

Prepare for the Next Day

One way to set up an evening routine and prepare for your beauty sleep is to prepare for the day ahead. How many times have you spent countless minutes thinking about the next day whether it’s what you will wear for work or what you will have for lunch?

You can prepare for the next day by setting out what you’ll wear so that you’re not scrambling to find all your items in the morning. You can also do a make-ahead breakfast. If you have a programmable coffee maker, you can set up your morning coffee to start brewing as soon as you wake up.

All these small actions can help you get a better rest since you’ll know you’re prepared for the day ahead.

Have things that you can’t finish at night? You can write out a list of things to do for the next day.

Dim Bright Lights

Our sleep/wake cycles run on about a 24-hour clock called a circadian rhythm. We wake up in the morning when the sun is out, and we go to sleep at night.

However, all the exposure to bright lights can throw off our circadian rhythm and make it difficult for us to fall asleep at night. More specifically, blue light, or the blue wavelengths in light, can affect our sleep.

Exposure to light can actually suppress melatonin in our bodies. Melatonin is a hormone that affects our circadian rhythms. During the day, we want lights and sunshine to stay awake and alert.

However, at night, right before bed, all the bright lights of our phones, tv screens, and light bulbs can make us awake and wide-eyed when we try to fall asleep. 

Stay off Electronics Right Before Bed

In fact, research that was conducted compared six and a half hours exposure of blue light and six and a half hours exposure of green light. The study revealed that the blue light shifted circadian rhythms by three hours compared to green light which was 1.5 hours.

It’s recommended that you avoid screens and bright lights for two to three hours before going to sleep. If you have a lamp in your room, you can install a dimmer so that the light is not bright.

What’s more, if you do go on your phone, you can set up the night mode feature which reduces blue light. 

Relaxing Evening Actions

Do you regularly reach for your phone before bed? Or maybe you’re used to winding down by watching your favorite shows on your laptop?

Looking for a relaxing way to wind down and get ready for bed? Here are some alternate relaxing things you can do before you sleep. 

Try Meditation

Meditating may help you get a good night’s rest. What’s more, research shows that those who practiced six weeks of mindfulness meditation had reduced symptoms of insomnia. They also had less fatigue during the day.

Meditation before bed can help increase melatonin and serotonin in your body which can help you sleep. It may also lower your blood pressure and reduce your heart rate. 

 

Read a Book

Instead of watching TV, you can read a book before bedtime. If you love reading, then a book can be a great way to do something relaxing and also stress-relieving. 

Write in a Journal

Do you love to write? To get ready for bed, you can incorporate journal writing before you go to bed. This way, you can write out whatever is on your mind or whatever has been bothering you lately.

Drink Tea

You can get cozy before bed and drink a cup of tea. This is especially relaxing during the colder months. If you do drink tea, make sure it’s not caffeinated which can keep you up instead of helping you sleep. 

How Long Should Your Evening Routine Last?

Wondering how long you should start your evening routine? You should start about 30 to 60 minutes before you actually fall asleep. This way, you have enough time to relax and become tired.

Also, another tip for getting good sleep is to try to wake up and go to sleep around the same time every day. It may be tempting to sleep in during the weekends or on your day off.

However, this can throw off your sleep cycle and make it difficult to sleep at an early time the next day. 

You can also set an alert on your phone to remind yourself to start getting ready for bed. 

Final Tips for Establishing an Evening Routine

The above tips can help you establish an evening routine which may help you get better rest at night. An evening routine may seem like another extra thing to do during your day, however, it can help you relax before bed. 

Want to read more tips and tricks? Check out more articles in our Tips and Tricks blog section.