If you fall under this category, it’s time to get your sleep hygiene in check by creating a nighttime routine. While creating a bedtime routine won’t promise quick results on the first day, once your body adjusts to its new routine, you’ll be sleeping like a baby in no time. The first step to creating a night routine is by reading this post. Throughout, you’ll find some tips and tricks on how to create the perfect nighttime routine, along with the importance of quality sleep and other ways to improve your slumber. Ready to wake up? Ready to tackle the day? Let’s get started.
- What Is a Nighttime Routine?
- Why Are Nighttime Routines Important?
- How to Create a Nighttime Routine
- Tips for Creating a Good Nighttime Routine
- Other Ways to Improve Sleep
What Is a Nighttime Routine?
Before diving into how to create a nighttime routine, it’s important to understand what they entail. According to the Sleep Foundation, a nighttime routine is a set of activities you practice between 30 to 60 minutes before going to bed. This set of activities are performed in the same order every single night. This way, once your body gets used to your bedtime routine, it will release a signal to begin winding down. Evening routines can vary from person to person but typically consist of calming and relaxing activities, such as taking a bath, listening to music, or reading.
Why Are Nighttime Routines Important?
Nighttime routines are important for several reasons. One of the most important reasons why you should implement a nighttime routine into your daily schedule is because humans are, in fact, creatures of habit. By repeating the same set of activities every night, we can teach our brain when it’s time to begin preparing for sleep. However, that’s not the only reason why bed routines are important. Some other reasons why you should create a nighttime routine include:
- Stress and anxiety: Implementing a bedtime routine into your life can help reduce stress and anxiety that might keep you awake at night. By having a set schedule, you can keep your mind occupied on the activities you’re performing and set your mind to prepare for sleep.
- Circadian rhythm: Setting a nighttime routine is great for both children and adult circadian rhythms. Your circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock, which tells you when to sleep. External cues help guide your body’s internal clock, and a nighttime routine can help promote quality sleep and help you fall asleep.
- Children: Bedtime routines have been shown to reduce the number of problematic sleep behaviors for infants and toddlers. By creating a nighttime routine, children and their parents are able to sleep better at night with fewer interruptions.
Now that you know why nighttime routines are important, let’s get to the fun part—creating an evening routine that works for you.
How to Create a Nighttime Routine
To create a nighttime routine, you’re going to have to have to learn how to practice good sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene consists of the habits and rituals every night before you go to sleep and are essential for creating a healthy nighttime routine. According to Sleep.org, here are some healthy habits that can help you create a nighttime routine:
- Set a schedule: The most important step to creating a nighttime routine is setting a schedule and sticking to it. This means waking up and falling asleep at the same time every single night. Doing so can help your internal clock understand when it’s time to begin preparing for bed, which can promote quality sleep.
- Create a comfortable sleeping environment: Setting a sleep schedule can help you fall asleep, but if your sleeping environment doesn’t promote sleep, you’ll find yourself tossing and turning. To create a comfortable sleeping environment, it’s important to invest in a quality mattress and bedding. Additionally, you should reduce as much light as possible from screens and lighting fixtures and set your room’s temperature to a comfortable level.
- Plan when you eat and drink: Believe it or not, the food you eat and liquids you drink can be the reason you’re wide awake at night. Stimulants, such as nicotine and caffeine, can make it hard to fall and stay asleep. You should also be mindful when you drink water before bed to reduce the number of bathroom visits and avoid acidic food close to bedtime that can cause heartburn and indigestion.
- Don’t watch the clock: Staring at your clock watching the minutes slowly tick by can make restless nights unbearable. Rather than agonizing over every minute you’re still awake, get up out of your bed and move around. You can try doing some stretches or meditation or even read a book—just stay away from picking up your phone or computer, as the blue light can make you feel more awake. Once you begin to feel sleepy, head back to your sheets.
If you’re wondering how to go to bed early, these sleep hygiene tips can help. By focusing on the rituals and habits you do before bed, you can create a nighttime routine that helps you fall asleep.
Tips for Creating a Good Nighttime Routine
Not every person is the same, which means one nighttime routine might not work for somebody else. You know the importance of sleep and how quality shuteye helps you operate throughout the day. Now, let’s go over some tips that can help you create a good evening routine to set you up for success. Below are a few different activities and habits you can try before hitting the hay:
- Prepare for tomorrow: Do you wake up every morning in a panic searching for your keys, scrambling to make a quick breakfast, and trying to find matching socks? Morning chores can start your day off on the wrong foot. To ease stress and wake up feeling calm, take time to prepare for tomorrow. This means finding an outfit for the day, meal prepping breakfast and lunch, and ensuring all your essential items are accounted for, such as your phone, wallet, and keys.
- Reduce screen time: Your body’s circadian rhythm is heavily influenced by light, particularly the sun. The sun often serves as a cue telling your body when to wake up and when to fall asleep. However, many people find themselves restless at night, and cellphones and other technology can be the culprit. Numerous studies have found that the blue light emitted from phones, TVs, computers, and tablets can impact circadian timing, tricking your brain into thinking it’s daytime. To prevent this from happening, reduce screen time at least an hour before bed.
- Listen to relaxing sounds: Calming music and sounds like rain, ocean waves, a fan, or white noise can help you drift into a peaceful sleep. Research has found that white noise and other soothing sounds can help you fall asleep faster.
- Take a warm bath: When your body gets ready to fall asleep, it’s core temperature drops. One way to mimic this bodily change is by taking a warm bath around an hour before bedtime. This is because the bath will warm your body up, and as the water slowly evaporates from your skin, it will lower your body’s temperature, mimicking the sleepy sensation you feel before bed.
- Stretch: Stretching is another great habit to practice before bedtime. While strenuous exercise before bed can make you feel wired and awake, stretching is a slow physical movement that can reduce mental and physical tension, helping you feel relaxed.
These are just some of the rituals you can incorporate into your nighttime routine to help you fall asleep. While this list is non-exhaustive, it serves as a great starting block to help you get your sleep back on track.
Other Ways to Improve Sleep
In addition to creating a nighttime routine, there are other ways you can improve your sleep. Some tips to improve your sleep include:
- Investing in a comfortable mattress: One of the main reasons people have trouble falling asleep is because their mattress keeps them up at night. Whether it’s squeaky or lumpy, an uncomfortable mattress can make your wake life less than ideal. At Layla Sleep, our memory foam mattress comes with flippable firmness, giving you the option to choose between a plush soft side or a supportive firm side. You’ll also benefit from memory foam with Variable Support that reacts to increased pressure with a firming response, so it stays plush and soft while providing adequate support around deep compression areas where you need it most.
- Setting the right temperature: According to the Sleep Foundation, the best temperature for sleep is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. To reach this temperature, you can try opening a window or setting your thermostat or AC to 65 degrees. However, these options are not available to everyone. If this is the case, you can invest in cooling bamboo sheets that wick moisture away and keep you comfortable all night long.
- Sleeping with a weighted blanket: If your mind starts racing the moment you close your eyes, consider sleeping with a weighted blanket. Anxiety, stress, and depression are some causes of insomnia, and a weighted blanket with Deep Touch Pressure (DTP) can alleviate feelings of restlessness. A weighted blanket can help you decompress by delivering a soft, huggy sensation to relieve both stress and anxiety.
By incorporating Layla Sleep into your nighttime routine, falling asleep has never been easier. We guarantee you’ll get the best night of sleep of your life when choosing one of our mattresses or any of our bedding products. And if you’re not satisfied after your free trial period, you’ll get your refund.
