Ideal Nighttime Routine: 6 Mindful Practices to Best End Your Day
You’ve seen it all over TikTok: “The best 5 to 9 wind-down routine”, “The perfect night routine”, or “10 Rituals for Best Sleep”. WOOHOO – that’s a lot of information, isn’t it?! It feels like creating an ideal nighttime routine became something else to stress about, rather than a way to ease your mind and body after a long day…
Do You Really Need a Bedtime Routine?
If you’ve been sticking around on this blog for quite some time, you should know me: I love a good routine!
Adopting the right routines in your life can provide you with more freedom than you’d think.
Once you figure out a set of actions that make you feel your best, you can automize them and let them turn into healthy daily habits.
I believe there are two most crucial moments in the day when you should be super intentional about your actions: in the morning, and before falling asleep.
They go hand in hand.
After all, you can’t expect to have a super productive morning routine if your night routine is all over the place.
But don’t panic – this post got you covered!
Are you ready to figure out how to create your ideal nighttime routine, so that falling asleep will be a pleasure rather than a moment of crippling anxiety? Then, let’s get started!
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What Is the Ideal Nighttime Routine?
A quick scroll on Tiktok will make you feel like you need a 15-step bedtime routine – cause that’s the only right way to do it, right?
Well, no.
There’s no secret formula, only a set of best practices you can use for guidance when creating your ideal nighttime routine.
By no means you should take this as a fixed set of rules. If something doesn’t work for you or doesn’t fit your lifestyle – just let go of it!
The perfect night routine is ultimately the one that makes you feel your best and allows you to get the best sleep ever.
So, whether you want to keep it simple or craft an hour-long wind-down routine – that’s totally up to you!
Are you ready for the habits and practices you could consider including in your 5 to 9 wind-down routine? Let’s dive in!
How to Create Your Ideal Nighttime Routine: 6 Mindful Practices for Best Sleep
Journal
If there’s one habit that has the power to completely change your life, that’s journaling.
Many studies highlight the benefits of making journaling a regular practice. Some of the benefits you’ll get include:
- More clarity
- A better understanding of yourself
- Less stress
Ending your day by writing in a journal is one of the best ways to wind down after a long, stressful day. You could use this practice to:
- Reflect & review the past day
- Plan for the day ahead
- Express your feelings and release your worries
- Manifest your dream life
If you’re new to journaling, a good trick to get you started could be to set a timer – even for 5 minutes – and just allow yourself to pour your heart out on paper.
Everything makes more sense when it’s clear black on white, don’t you think?
PS. If you don’t know where to start with journaling, grab my FREE “50 Journal Prompts for Self-Discovery”:
Gratitude
“When you focus on the good, the good gets better”
– Abraham Hicks
Beauty is all around you. If only you look at life from the right perspective.
In a world that wants to make you feel like you’re never enough, don’t do enough, or haven’t enough…the best act of rebellion is to be grateful.
Be grateful for who you already are, what you’ve done, and all that you already have.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work towards your goals or aspire to improve your life situation.
It simply means that you learn to love and appreciate the here and now, as you move towards your dreams.
One habit with the power to completely change your life – if only you added it to your nighttime routine – is to express your gratitude.
Why? Cause ending the day on a positive note will make the next one start with a more positive mindset. (Which ultimately creates a good life ;))
If you’re struggling to find something to be grateful for, here are some good things you might be taking for granted in your life:
- Being alive & healthy
- Having access to the Internet to read this post
- Loving yourself enough to want to improve yourself
- Having access to water & food
- Your family, friends, and all the people that you love and that love you back
- Breathing
- The ability to laugh at yourself and life
- The fact you woke up this morning, having a new day ahead of you
- Your dreams, goals, and aspirations you should never give up on
- Knowing that tomorrow is another day, and so another chance for you to do what you really want
Being grateful is a practice, and – like any other practice – you can get better at it if you keep doing it.
Take a moment, each day, to savor those small moments of life that make your life so unique, special, and meaningful.
Know that every day you spend is another day that won’t come back – so, how do you want to live it?
Read
A great wind-down habit is to read a couple of pages of a book before falling asleep.
And, if you’re telling yourself that you don’t have enough time for it – you’re only making a fool of yourself!
You don’t have time to read but you can somehow find the time to scroll on Instagram and TikTok for hours, huh? 😉
I know. Reading is hard.
It requires more mental energy than simply scrolling. It requires your focus and attention.
But, sometimes, you have to train yourself to do the hard things.
It’s no secret that using the phone before falling asleep is one of the worst things you could do…
And no, it’s not only because of blue light!
To me, it’s much deeper than that.
If the last thing you see before you close your eyes is a feed full of people living their best lives, looking perfect and flawless and seeming like they have it all put together – what’s the result?
You’ll go to sleep in a negative headspace, feeling bad about yourself and stressing cause you’re behind in life.
No wonder why you wake up feeling so anxious in the morning!
So, why not consider making a healthy swap?
Swap your mindless scrolling for a good reading session.
Not only your eyes and brain will thank you for it, but also your mental health 😉
RELATED: Read here “The 5 Self-help Books That Will Completely Change Your Life”
Gentle Movement
This one is definitely not for everyone, but there are so many studies that link how moving your body can improve your sleep that I couldn’t NOT mention it!
Engaging in some light movement can help you release all the stress and tension you’ve accumulated throughout the workday.
A simple 5-minute bedtime yoga can do the trick.
Or, maybe you love going for a post-dinner walk – either alone or with a friend or your partner – to boost your digestion and catch up on life.
Find a form of movement that fits your lifestyle, and ensure you make time for it.
If you’re into yoga and need some inspiration, here are my favorite winddown yoga practices:
Deep Breathing
Some nights, although you tried your best and followed all of the above practices for the ideal nighttime routine, you’ll still feel anxious. (It happens to me too!)
The way I like to face those nights is through engaging in deep breathing. Doing so, immediately allows me to tune in with my body and feel more at peace.
One technique that’s helped me a lot is the “4-7-8 technique”. Here’s how it works:
- Breathe in from your nose for a count of 4
- Hold your breath for a count of 7
- Exhale through your mouth for a count of 8 seconds
By counting and focusing on the air that comes in and out, you’ll feel more relaxed and at ease.
I recommend giving it a try – especially if you’re struggling with anxiety before bed!
Visualize
If there’s one thing we all do before falling asleep is…creating false scenarios in our head! (Anyone daydreaming about Harry Styles? Haha ;))
Well, why not take advantage of this human tendency to manifest your dream life?
Instead of picturing yourself:
- Screwing up that important presentation at work
- Feeling exhausted because of tomorrow’s endless to-do list
- Not having fun during your the dinner planned with your in-laws
Why don’t you use that time and mental energy to picture yourself:
- Living your best life
- Waking up energetic and ready to conquer the day ahead
- Being the highest version of yourself
The mental images you last create before falling asleep are important!
Why? Cause your mind is most influenceable right before you fall asleep and shortly after waking up.
So, why would you want to think of the worst-case scenarios? Instead of worrying about all the things that could go wrong; what if you’d start thinking from the perspective of:
“What if it all works out?”
It’s a minor, yet powerful mindset shift.
Conclusion
That’s all for me today!
Please remember that this list of habits works only as a set of tools you could include in your nighttime routine – but it’s not a set of rules you should stick to!
The best way to create a good night routine? By trying things out, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and staying open to making any changes to find what makes you feel best. Cause…only you know what’s best for you!
Q: “Do you have a nighttime routine? If so, what does that look like?” – Share your thoughts in the comments! 🙂
Until next time,
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