Find it hard to unwind after a tough day? Having trouble falling asleep? Staying asleep? You may find it helpful to change up your night time routine.
Having a stable, relaxing night routine is essential for getting a good night’s sleep, especially if you’re prone to anxiety and stress. Both can make you extremely fatigued, yet many people who suffer with them report sleeping difficulty and even insomnia. In this post, I’ll be sharing my ultimate self care night routine to make you feel calm, help you unwind and set you up for a good night’s sleep.
6pm – Dinner
Try to eat dinner early on in the evening. Eating too close to bedtime can make it hard to sleep, as the body is still digesting everything. Make it light, but filling enough that you won’t get hungry as you’re about to go to sleep. Make the cooking process fun – it can be a great way to relax, and you can use it as a form of mindfulness by really focusing on each step.
7pm – Practice Yin Yoga
Any form of gentle stretching is a good idea in the evening to help you relax, but Yin Yoga is especially good. Yin involves holding just a few poses per session, but you hold these poses for minutes at a time. This means it’s very slow, and depending on what poses you choose, can be very gentle.
8pm – Take A Salt Bath
Taking a bath in itself is one of the most well known ways of de-stressing. But adding epsom/himalayan pink/dead sea salts, as well as perhaps an essential oil such as lavender, can maximise your relaxation even further. Light candles, use a pillow – maybe play some music or even watch a show or movie – anything to help you relax. Take this time to do a face mask and take some time to take some skincare self care time.
9pm – Prepare For The Next Day
I know this may seem like a boring step and not very relaxing, but actually it’s one of the most important. Sorting everything out the night before means that you can go to sleep knowing that you don’t have any outstanding tasks, and you won’t have such a stressful time the next morning.
9.30pm – Read Something Fun
Even though I’m obsessed with personal development books and recommend them to everyone, they aren’t perfect night time reading material. Books like that stimulate the mind, and you may feel an urge to complete more tasks and do work, rather than sleep. Instead, read some fiction – the cornier, more mindless and less intelligent, the better. You want to chill out!
10pm – Meditate and Practice Breathing Techniques
Right before bed, it’s a good time to focus on your breathing. Concentrating on this can help relax you and help you deepen your breathing, meaning that slowly you will get sleepier and sleepier. Practice 4-7-8 breathing or alternate nostril breathing for the best results.
10.30pm – Bedtime
If you haven’t already fallen asleep during the breathing exercises, now is the time to. To help you nod off, listen to meditation music, binaural beats or ASMR videos if they help to make you feel relaxed.
So there is the ultimate self care night routine! Let me know your night time routine in the comments!
Lots of love,
Natalie x
