Night Routines & Getting Better Sleep
Sleep is such an integral part of our health. Sleep is directly related to your circadian rhythm and studies have linked good sleep routines with better health outcomes, reduced inflammation, reduced mental and physical stress, improved mood, longevity - all the things. In nutrition counseling, I’m often talking about sleep with clients. It’s important to know how you’re sleeping, if you’re getting enough quality sleep, if you’re on a consistent schedule.
While we’re sleeping our bodies are doing a ton of work repairing and building. When we’re well rested we’re more alert, feel better, enjoy life more, are better decision makers, show up better for our relationships, do better work. So what’re we looking for? I’m no sleep specialist, but this is what I’ve gathered.
Enough sleep - the adult sweet spot is said to be about 7.5 hours/night, but enough sleep for you may vary between 8-9 hours (most likely). How much sleep you and your spouse need might be different as well - how convenient.
Quality sleep - you want to able to fall asleep fairly quickly (I consider this within 20-30 minutes of lying down. 30 is a little long for my liking), and stay asleep without tossing & turning, waking up, going to get a snack or beverage, etc.
Consistent sleep - staying on a sleep schedule is ideal
Here are a few things that I have found to help me accomplish the above goals:
Make sleep a priority
I’m preaching to myself here. You’re not going to get great sleep and feel rested if you don’t make it a priority. No one is giving you a bedtime (assuming you’re an adult). You have to do it yourself and prioritize.
Create a practical night routine
I’ve found having a night routine to be very helpful in signaling my brain that it’s time to wind down. I’m not by any means a rigid night or morning routine person. I’d like to be more dedicated, sure. It’s just not practical for me every day to be honest. My practical night routine usually looks like:
Walk Millie with Zack (relaxing)
Have a snack/see clients (some nights this is replaced with a small group/bible study)
Work out (needed, relieves the restlessness built up throughout the day)
Make dinner with Zack (relaxing)
Eat dinner with Zack, probably watching Netflix & then having dessert (sometimes replaced with a date)
Clean the kitchen & pack lunches (also w/ Zack)
Shower (ideally before the dinner step but usually I’m too hungry for that)
Lotion + skin care (the real relaxation, it’s only a small thing but 100% worth the time - LOVE adding an overnight mask in here)
Bed
Our routine is a bit task oriented but we make the most out of the tasks while we do them by talking, joking, and being affectionate toward one another. Good for our marriage, good for decompressing! We do almost all of our nightly activities together because we enjoy cooking and walking Millie together. We don’t have that much down time so this helps us feel like we’re in it together!
Prepare yourself for seep by doing soothing activities/tasks
Limit blue light exposure. Blue light mimics the sun in our brain. So when we’re exposing ourselves to blue light at night, we’re also being stimulated like we would be during the day. This makes it hard for the brain to slow down because you’re in productivity mode. Get off of your phone, your laptop, your iPad, etc. You can set your devices to a night setting to limit blue light, this will turn your screens yellow (a softer, warm color easier on the eyes and the brain). Go to settings > display & brightness > night shift & turn on “scheduled” and set your times. A good rule of thumb is to turn on night shift when the sun goes down and turn it off when the sun comes up.
Have a hot cup of tea - decaffeinated obvi. I opt for lemon ginger or mint.
Take out your contacts (if you wear them). For me, putting on my glasses makes me sleepy immediately. I only wear them at night before bed and have been doing that for years. Now I can’t even work in my glasses because my brain is like “bed time.”
Gua Sha face massage - I got my stone at Target & watched this Primally Pure video series to learn how to do the massage. Don’t worry - it only takes a few minutes! The video is very detailed. I always use cocokind chia facial oil!
Dry brush - I always do this before showering. It’s therapeutic and helps improve circulation and exfoliate.
Brain dump - struggle with a mind that won’t turn off? Write down all of your racing thoughts. You don’t need to write them in sentences, just write whatever comes to mind. The goal is to dump all the thoughts on a page- to get them physically out.
Make your to-do list for the next day - instead of thinking about all the things you have to do tomorrow that you don’t want to forget, write them down. This helps me find closure at the end of a day and signals that I’ve done enough for today and I’m prepared for tomorrow.
Cuddles with Millie (your dog) or cat I guess :)
Reading
Add some soothing background noise like a fan or sound machine while you sleep
Turn on the oil diffuser and add lavender or another soothing scent
Foot/hand massage
Deep breathing
Stretch/bed time yoga
Big tip: your room should be cool and DARK. Your eyelids are very thin (unfortunate reality of our bags and wrinkles) and you’d be surprised how your eyes can register the tiniest bit of light. Ideally, you shouldn’t be able to see your hand in front of your face. This means falling asleep with the TV is not the way to sleep better!
If you’re having difficulty sleeping, going to a specialist, evaluating your mattress and pillows, or having a sleep study might be worth your time. Previously, I have also used a low dose melatonin to help with racing thoughts before bed and did not experience any difficulties, dependencies, or crazy dreams. This was helpful for me but may not be for you. Please consult with your doctor if you’re weary.