Simple 5-Step Evening Routine For Better Sleep
Say goodbye to sleepless nights: this simple 5-step evening routine is designed with mindfulness at its core; helping you relax and unwind after a busy day and prepare yourself for a restful good night’s sleep.
Table of Contents
Key takeouts
- Sleep is really important for us. It allows the body and mind to recharge, supports our productivity and concentration during the day, helps to keep our emotions in balance, supports our immune system, etc.
- However, many people struggle to find sleep at night. A mindful evening routine can offer an effective solution in this case.
- By intentionally winding down every evening, you set the stage for improved sleep and, in turn, foster a more balanced, productive, and satisfying life overall.
- The benefits of an evening routine are reduced stress, increased self-care time, improved physical and mental well-being, being more present, enhanced productivity, better sleep quality, etc.
- Learn how to develop an evening routine tailored to your needs and desires: follow these five easy steps to create an evening routine rooted in mindfulness, allowing you to de-stress and relax after a hectic day while enhancing your sleep and boosting your overall well-being.
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Sleep is so important. It allows the body and mind to recharge, it supports our productivity, and concentration during the day, it helps to keep our emotions in balance, it supports our immune system and so much more.
However, many of us struggle to find sleep at night.
Establishing a calming evening routine can certainly help with this. By mindfully winding down each night, you create a sanctuary of peace and relaxation for yourself paving the way for better sleep and ultimately a more balanced, productive and fulfilling life overall.
Whether it’s prioritizing self-care activities, improving your productivity, focusing on your personal growth or fostering better sleep, crafting a tailored evening routine can positively impact your life on various levels.
In my experience, creating an evening routine has been a game-changer for calming my anxiety and overcoming insomnia. It also significantly boosted my daytime productivity and helped me cultivate a healthier work-life balance giving me more time to focus on what truly matters.
Below is a simple yet effective 5-step guide to inspire your mindful evening routine, helping you create a personalized wind-down ritual that suits your needs and desires.
Take charge of your well-being and start transforming your nights and days with this mindful evening routine!
What is an evening routine?
An evening routine bridges the gap between day and night time, allowing a smooth transition with some time in between to help you relax and unwind from the day.
Benefits of an evening routine
Routines are a powerful way to keep us grounded, giving us the space we need for self-care and mindfulness, even on the busiest days. They create a rhythm that supports our well-being and keeps life well-balanced.
Top 5 benefits of an evening routine:
- Reduced stress – a structured evening routine can help you unwind and relax after a long day, offering space and time to de-stress and calm the mind before going to bed
- Increased self-care time – self-care activities and self-care practices can be a great way to help you relax from a stressful day
- Improved health – an evening routine allows space and time for healthy habits e.g. regular exercise, time for a healthy dinner, meal prep for the next day, etc. which can support you in living a healthy lifestyle
- Better sleep quality – having this time to relax and unwind is crucial for the mind to calm and quiet down which will help to improve your sleep quality
- Enhanced productivity – having time to rest allows you to recharge your batteries and boost your productivity and efficiency the next day
Your daily habits shape your reality and having the right routines in place not only supports your physical and mental well-being but also helps you build a life that matters to you; a life filled with more meaning and a deeper sense of purpose.
Simple 5-step evening routine to help you unwind and relax
This 5-step evening routine or night routine has the concept of mindfulness at its heart; helping you to create an environment in which you can relax and unwind after a long day, recharge your batteries and set yourself up for success in both: your private and professional life.
1. Set a time to start your evening routine
To set a time for your evening routine, work out how many hours of sleep are ideal for you. Generally speaking, for most healthy adults it’s about 7 – 9 hours per night. But this varies for everyone and depends on your personal needs.
Once you worked out how many hours of sleep are ideal for you, define when you need to go to bed to get that amount of sleep. This is your ideal bedtime.
From there work backwards and define how much time you would like to spend on your evening routine.
Consider activities that you are looking to include in your evening routine e.g. self-care activities, journaling, yoga, reading, etc. and define how much time you would like to make for yourself.
I like to take 1 hour for my bedtime routine, this allows me enough time to prep for the next day, relax and quiet my mind before going to bed.
Be consistent and stick with this time every night.
Tip: Keep in mind that Monday already starts on Sunday night 🖤.
2. Create an ambience
To start your evening routine, make yourself comfortable and create an environment in which you can relax and unwind.
- put on some comfortable clothes
- dim the lights in your home to signal the body and mind that it is time to slow down
- pour yourself a cup of tea
- distance yourself from social media and stay away from any technical devices
These are just a few ideas, but creating an ambience will make it easier for you to relax and at the same time it signals the body that it is time to start winding down.
3. Prepare for the next day
Routines are meant to make your life more efficient so that you have more time for the things that matter to you most.
Give yourself a headstart and prepare yourself for the next day. Go over your to-do list for the next day, get your meal prep ready, pack your gym bag, etc. anything that takes off the pressure in the morning and helps to support a smoother start to the day.
Most importantly, take your time with everything, and don’t rush what you are doing. You already started your evening routine, take your actions at a slower pace to keep signalling to your body that it is time to take things slow and start to unwind.
4. Mindfulness activities examples
Once you are ready with your preparations for the next day, it is time to unwind even further with a mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness means being fully present in the moment, and aware of your thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judgment. It’s the practice of intentionally focusing your attention on the here and now.
Together with your evening routine, these mindfulness activities will positively support your sleep habits and promote healthy sleep.
Below are a few activities and evening routine ideas that all have mindfulness at the heart.
Practice gratitude
Practising gratitude is a great self-care activity and mindfulness practice to include in your evening routine as it helps to create a more positive mindset.
Apart from that, the top 5 benefits of a regular gratitude practice are improved mental health, enhanced physical health, improved relationships, higher self-esteem and living more in the present moment.
Self-love activities
Self-love is the conscious practice of nurturing your physical, emotional and mental well-being.
Self-love exercises can be a great addition to your evening routine to help you cultivate self-love and self-worth from within; helping you transform the relationship with yourself and create more joy and happiness in your life long-term.
Journaling
Journaling is like keeping a diary: you regularly write down your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and reflections in a journal or notebook.
The benefits of journaling on your mental well-being are increased self-awareness, helping to manage stress and ease anxiety, allowing for more clarity and focus, greater feelings of gratitude, etc.
If you are a regular on this blog, you know how much I love journaling. Journaling helped me a lot to ease my anxieties and depression.
When I have a super busy week, I tend to brain-dump all my thoughts into my journal and reflect upon them. This allows me to get all my worries out of my head and stay on top of my physical and mental well-being. It gives me a feeling of control rather than being lost in everything that is going on that week.
Meditation
Meditation can be another powerful tool for relaxation before bed.
Meditation helps to quiet the mind, reduce stress, and release tension that builds up during the day.
This mental clarity can promote a sense of inner peace making it easier to transition into a restful and rejuvenating good night’s sleep.
There are lots of free resources and meditation apps out there e.g. Calm, Insight timer, just to name a couple.
Tip: Guided meditations are a great way to start. I recommend trying the Love and Kindness Meditation and this Body Scan Mediation to begin with.
Practice yoga
Yoga can be a great way to help you relax and unwind after a busy day.
I know, as a yoga teacher I am a bit biased, but hear me out 😉
An evening yoga routine helps to calm the mind, release the tensions of the day, and promote deep relaxation, which can lead to improved sleep quality.
Already 5 – 10 minutes can make a huge difference and you don’t even have to leave the house. Yoga is very accessible and there are many free online resources out there that you can leverage for your home yoga practice.
Join me on the mat for an evening yoga flow in Edinburgh, Scotland. This yoga flow is suitable for beginners and advanced practitioners alike.
5. Get ready for bed
After your mindfulness activity, it is time to prepare yourself for bed, brush your teeth, follow your evening skin-care routine, etc.
While getting ready for bed, I like to put on my nighttime playlist. It is a selection of a few calming and relaxing tunes that I listen to every evening.
Once you are all set and ready for bed, turn off the lights in your home and enjoy your beauty sleep.
My favourite items to help me create a relaxing ambience for my evening routine
There's nothing like a good cup of tea to help you unwind in the evening. Tangerine Dream features a relaxing aroma with well-balanced flavours; pure relaxation in a cup.
The perfect combo: a beautifully crafted wooden incense holder with an engraved mantra and a selection of purifying and cleansing incense sticks. Creating space for the new.
Breathe in and relax. This essential oil diffuser brings a magical Spa feeling into your home helping you to relax and unwind after a long and stressful day.
White and gold glass candle holder set of 12 featuring 4 different designs. Its unique boho style makes this candle holder the ideal home decor item, adding mystery and beauty to your sanctuary.
This inspiring and uplifting colourful notebook is larger than a regular notebook and offers more than enough space for your journaling experience. Chic, dynamic and made of high-quality materials.
Wash away the day's stress with these aromatherapy shower steamers infused with natural essential oils. Indulge, relax and enjoy a good night's sleep.
Treat yourself to luxury and enjoy the day you deserve with these warm and super cosy socks - your ticket to relaxation.
Muse Apothecary pillow ritual is a luxurious aromatherapy ritual that immerses you into total relaxation, the relaxing mist refreshes your pillows and sheets with an aromatherapeutic blend of natural fragrances and essential oils, creating a soothing nighttime ritual for your senses.
3 Powerful tips to make your evening routine happen
Some weeks can be super crazy and even with the best intentions you might find yourself struggling to keep up with your evening routine.
Below are three tips to help you keep up your nighttime routine:
- Make yourself a priority – you are the creator of your life, say ‘yes’ to yourself and keep showing up for yourself; keep in mind that you are the most important asset that you have
- Start small – when establishing a new routine, start small and build the routine up over time; this way you are building a strong foundation for yourself and setting yourself up for long-term success
- Focus on the positive – focus on the benefits that your evening routine has brought into your life and remind yourself of what has positively changed for you since you started this new healthy habit
- Be consistent – humans are creatures of habit, so let consistency be your ally in creating your bedtime routine; stick to the same time every night and notice how this new habit slowly turns into a routine
Be patient with yourself as you establish your evening routine. Setbacks are normal along the way. Have compassion with yourself and keep in mind that tomorrow is a new day and you get the opportunity to try again.
Tip: Yes, ideally you start your evening routine at the same time every day and do the same activities. Over the years I have allowed myself a bit of freedom when it comes to the mindfulness activities and rather than doing the same mindfulness activity every day, I sometimes switch to what I feel most drawn to. What I am saying, is find what works best for you. The right evening routine should flow nicely and it should be easy for you to flow along.
Establishing an evening routine helped me to ease my anxiety and insomnia promoting a much better sleep quality for myself.
In addition, it helped me to boost my productivity during the day and the week. It also helped me to establish a much-needed work-life balance for myself.
The mindfulness activity is key and depending on how my day went I either choose meditation, yoga or journaling. Yoga if my body feels tense, meditation if my mind is busy and journaling if I feel overwhelmed with my thoughts and to-dos for the following day.
I 🖤 my routines and matching your evening routine to your morning routine can be a super powerful combo. Routines can support our physical and mental well-being and apart from that they help us to free up some time that we can use as quality time for personal development, self-care activities, building a side hustle, etc.
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Stay wild,
Nicolle
Featured Image Photo by J Ph on Unsplash
Hi, I am Nicolle, a Senior Marketing professional, certified Yoga Teacher and Wellness Blogger. I am the founder of Let Your Shadow Shine Yoga and this blog. I am here to support you along your self-discovery journey, offering empowering tools like yoga, holistic well-being tips and transformative personal growth strategies.
These are all great suggestions to help you relax. I read and meditate. It’s also helpful to set a timer to remind yourself it’s time to get ready for bed. You should also go to bed and wake up at the same time every day (even on the weekends).
Thanks so much for your comment, Shelley.
I allow myself a break on the weekends, that’s my cheat day 😉
Really like the idea with the timer!!
Great tips! Love the idea of setting up an evening routine to initiate a shift in mindset and have time to rest before bed. For me the hardest is to stop looking at my phone, which I know doesn’t help with good sleeping habits but it’s one of those habits that’s hard to break. Maybe implementing a new habit, like gratitude or stretching will help slowly let go of devices before sleep. Thank you for this great information!
Thank you so much for your comment Charlie-Elizabeth 😉
The phone was a hard one for me too, but it makes a huge difference. I now leave it away in the evenings as well as the mornings, more quality time and less stress too 😉
I usually drink a tea to calm me down before going to bed. Great tips!
Happy to hear that you enjoyed them.
Tea I do as well 😉
I used to toss and turn ALL night because of anxiety. I found a way to treat it. And BOY has it helped me out and the quality of my life so much. Thanks for sharing this post!
So happy to hear this, a good night’s sleep really makes a difference!
Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment 😉
These are all wonderful suggestions to relax before going to bed. I know I tend to really push the limits and stay up late because I always want to do so much. But I pay for it the next morning, haha! Thanks for sharing these!
I so know the feeling Meghan!!
Not always easy, I am still practising too 😉
Thank you so much for your comment!!
These are perfect tips for a great evening routine checklist. I agree that tea and a book are helpful to unwind before bed.
Hi Debbie, so happy to hear that you enjoyed the blog post and found it useful. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, much appreciated. Hope to see you back very soon 😉
I am one of those people who start worrying before bedtime – which, of course, ruins my sleep. I plan to start a few of these ideas this evening to put me in a better frame of mind. Thank you as always for your tips to nurture the mind and body.
Thank you so much for your kind words Stephanie, that means a lot 🖤.
I totally understand what you mean, my mind is super active too, especially before bed time….I hope these tips will help you as much as they helped me to calm the mind and find a more peaceful and restful sleep.