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How I Created My Ultimate Nighttime Routine

I struggled with sleep on and off for a while, sometimes it came in bouts of restless nights (which I’ve now noticed may in fact be linked to my menstrual cycle, a symptom that’s fairly common) and then would slowly disappear. Other times it would come more directly related to something that happened that day. Unfortunately I still won’t sleep well if I have to get up early for something the next day (no mater what time I go to bed), such as waking up for a flight- so if anyone has figured out how to get rid of that anxiety let me know! However, on the whole, I sleep pretty damn well now.

It took a lot of trial and error but slowly slowly I created the ultimate nighttime routine for my most restful sleep ever. One of the main factors is just to create a routine, ANY routine and stick to it- it will get your mind and body both psychologically and physiologically primed for sleep.

Creating healthy sleep hygiene is paramount for not only having a restful sleep, but also ensuring your body is performing at its best and giving you optimal energy levels too! Read on to find out about my routine:

You’ve heard it before and I’ll say it again: blue light is messing with our circadian rhythm. Cue: dim lighting. I am OBSESSED with what I call “ambiance” haha, so from about 7pm onward I only turn on our soft yellow hall lighting that warms into our living room and then use a Himalayan salt lamp (which I’m obsessed with) and amber moon lamp for low lighting in the living room itself.

I also put on my blue-light blocking glasses (I highly recommend them) and keep night-mode turned on on our phones and laptop, I also keep the brightness down to the minimum. This also goes hand in hand with stopping to use all electronics 1 hour before bed (and sleeping with my phone in airplane mode). Of course, keeping the lights low in the evening needs to be precursored with getting enough natural bright light earlier in the day to reset our internal clock and ensure we get quality sleep when the time comes, according to one study by the national sleep foundation and many others.

Salt lamp and blue light blocking glasses

2. Diffuse Essential Oils

I diffuse 3 different blends throughout the day, and switch to a lavender and floral mix in the evening before my bedtime routine. I also make sure to put a couple of drops of lavender onto my pillowcase which is an actual GODSEND in helping me to fall asleep faster.

I can’t stress how effective this is for me, especially if I wake up in the night I can use the scent to help me drift back to sleep with some deep breathing techniques shown to increase sleep quality. I absolutely love essential oils and I think the combination of the ritual and the routine helps prime my brain to know it’s time to relax and enter sleep mode. Plus, lavender has proven time and time again to be a really effective relaxant and sedative, even as much as medication (I also mix some into the nighttime cream I make)!

3. Enjoy A Sleepy Tea

Every night without fail we drink two cups of a blend of chamomile, rose, and lavender tea, it’s so good! I’ve also used lemon balm and gotu kola with success before. You can just buy a ready prepped sleep tea for ease. I also use CBD oil drops under my tongue if I happen to wake up in the night ever (which is AMAZING) and passionflower, valerian and hops pills beforehand if I’m going to be waking up for a flight etc which I know still disrupts my sleep (I use the Holland & Barrett ones and Kalms, I highly recommend them!).

I also make sure to stop drinking at least half an hour before I go to sleep so I don’t have to wake up to pee in the middle of the night, and make sure I’ve fully digested by finishing to eat at least 2 hours before bed (three hours seems to be ideal but we’re still working on that). And, of course, stop drinking anything caffeinated at least 6 hours before bed! This will all make falling asleep much much easier.

I don’t take any specific supplements for sleep now because I’m so regimented with my nighttime routine that it’s enough for me but I have tried some in the past and these are the ones that worked well for me: magnesium, 5-HTP (this is a “happy hormone” and SO effective however not recommended for long-term use), ashwaghanda, tulsi (taken in the morning and not if you’re trying to get pregnant), and rhodiola.

In general I would also check that you’re not deficient in anything because this can impact on the quality of your sleep and energy levels the subsequent day (some people may also struggle with sleep apnea etc. so it may be worth getting these aspects checked out too if you have serious problems sleeping).

I do eat two jujubes for desert each night however. While not technically supplements, these are such a potent berry that they’re considered medicinal in Traditional Chinese Medicine, of course living in China they’re very accessible to us but I’m sure you can find supplements for them too. [Always check with your doctor first].

4. Self Care Routine

This is the part that I would say is more of a routine routine because it’s specific steps happening in succession. First, I use my homemade face wash and then body brush and shower, I’ve always liked to shower at night because it relaxes me and I can save time in the morning (i.e. wake up later). Plus I like “washing the day away” and going to bed clean. Then I give myself a quick little massage as I apply my (homemade) body cream and finally I gua sha. I absolutely LOVE using my gua sha (or jade roller, sometimes I switch between the two), I find it so luxurious and therapeutic, it really decompresses me and makes me skin look great! I highly recommend it.

Along with self care but not at night (at least 4 hours before bed to be exact) I would include exercise. It’s so important that you’ve gotten enough exercise throughout the day to ensure a good night’s sleep! It’s also really important to stick to a fixed sleep schedule to get your body clock used to producing the right hormones at the right time (this includes waking up at the same time as much as possible every day, yes even on the weekends too). This was one of the things I personally struggled with the most but once it became habit it was easy to stick to and the difference it’s made to me is ENORMOUS and so will always be worth it.

two-wander-mystical-guidebook-bundle-save-now

5. Adjust Your Mindset

I think one of the biggest shifts for me was not putting so much pressure on getting the perfect night/right amount of sleep etc so if I do happen to wake up it doesn’t stress me out (making it even harder to fall back asleep again and creating a vicious circle amirite?) but instead tell myself it’s not a big deal and that the body KNOWS how to sleep, it doesn’t need me over-analyzing it.

I also introduced a mini meditation right when I get into bed and it KNOCKS. ME. OUT! Honestly it’s crazy, it always used to drive me mad how Sam could fall asleep within literally 2.5 seconds of his head hitting the pillow and start twitching hahah but now that person is ME! I basically do a synthesized version of my morning meditation.

It essentially consists of starting with a few deep breaths, noticing my contact points on the bed and how “cosy” I am, briefly becoming aware of any sounds and telling myself I’m safe, bringing my attention back to my body and noticing how “tired and ready for sleep” it is. Then I do a body scan and honestly don’t even normally get this far anymore haha but if I do, after this I set the intention for a restful night’s sleep and visualize myself waking up full of energy. Finally I focus on the breath, counting them to 10 or just continuously if I need the extra focus until I fall asleep.

Finally, the newest addition to my routine is briefly writing in my journal before going to sleep, this is especially good if I’m nervous about something coming up in the morning or have a had a difficult day. Honestly, now I try to adopt a “let it go” mindset throughout the day as much as possible (my meditation practice and books such as A New Earth and Untethered Soul MASSIVELY helped with this, I highly highly recommend them) so I don’t bring any worries to bed with me in the first place (I don’t actually really worry much about anything at all now thanks to those books.

Not that there isn’t anything to worry about suddenly but I don’t let it be a negative worry ya know?). If need be, I try and process all my emotions beforehand, talk it out with Sam, let it go as much as possible, write it all out (which is incredibly therapeutic for me) and then tell myself that worrying about it in bed won’t change anything anyway.

Another thing we try to implement is to only watch light, happy things at night and we’re also trying to stop Netflixing/using our phones 15-30 minutes earlier so we can read a bit to wind down even more before actually getting ready for bed with my self care routine, step 4 (I don’t read in bed because I try to keep it just for sleep as much as possible).

6. Create A Sleep Haven

We currently live in a flat in China and it is LOUD. So to get around this, I’ve implemented a couple of extra techniques that are location specific but could be useful for you too. I use a white noise machine to block out loud noises (which has honestly been life-changing) and we put up an extra “blackout” curtain to block out as much light as possible (it’s just a black shower curtain).

I also use an eye mask and used to wear ear muffs haha because I don’t like earplugs and wasn’t sure on their long-term use safety but don’t need to anymore thanks to the white noise machine, although this could still be an option for you. Make sure your room is the right temperature, in winter we just need a good duvet and in summer we keep the fan on (which replaces my white noise machine). Also, we sleep naked and it is the BEST! I highly recommend it, it’s so good for regulating your own body temperature and feels so free, we’d honestly feel weird now if we had to put on clothes in bed.

Investing in a good mattress, sheets and pillows is also really beneficial for supporting your comfort and temperature levels.

So there’s the ultimate nighttime routine I created for my most restful sleep ever. I seriously love it so much and whereas before I would always try to stay up as late as possible, getting in one more episode or a few more scrolls on social media, now I look forward to getting ready for bed early and doing my routine SO much because I know how amazing it makes me feel the day after!

I realized there was no point in me ruining my energy levels and potentially my mood for a whole subsequent day just because I couldn’t be bothered to stick to an earlier sleep time. In the beginning I had to put alarms to get me to start haha but now it’s just habit and so life changing I’ll never go back!

Do you have a nighttime routine? If so, I’d love to know how yours differs, I’m always on the lookout for new tips- let me know in the comments section below! If you enjoyed reading this, you might also like my post on How I Created The Perfect Morning Routine!