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Get out of bed
When you lie in bed thinking for long periods of time, you teach your brain to automatically go into “thinking” mode rather than “sleeping” mode when you lie down.
To break this connection, don’t try to fall asleep in bed for longer than 10–20 minutes. If you pass this threshold, get up, go into another room, and do something relaxing like reading or meditating until you feel sleepy again. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.
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MORE IDEAS ON THIS
Create a “closing ritual”
For most of us it is the mind, rather than the body, that disrupts restorative sleep.
To cleanse our mind of the leftover responsibilities of the day, we need to bring a mental wind down into our evening routine.
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Go for a walk
Exercise during the day can help us get more quality sleep but it can also be a great part of our evening routine.
Buffer CEO, Joel Gascoigne likes to unwind with a brisk walk right befor...
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Ditch the alcohol
The National Institute of Health found that alcohol robs you of quality sleep. When you drink or eat late-night snacks, it keeps you in the lighter stages of sleep and prevents you from falling into deeper...
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Ditch the screens
Instead, pick up a book. Reading for as little as six minutes a day can reduce stress levels by up to 68%.
If you do want to watch a movie at night, try to work it into your schedule earlie...
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Stick to a regular bedtime
Going to sleep at a consistent time is an important part of our “sleep hygiene”—the practices that insure we get regular, deep sleep.
Commit to a daily bedtime and waking time and try not to waver too far from them (even on the weekends).
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Be creative
A study from Albion College revealed that tasks requiring creative insight were consistently better during their non-optimal times of the day.
If you can’t sleep, you can at least use the time productively.
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Benefits of an evening routine
Haphazard evening routines can have serious effects on our sleep.
The right evening routine helps us wind down, relax, and get into a deep, restorative sleep—making us refreshed and ready for tomorrow.
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The science of sleep
When we close our eyes for the night, our mind cycles through different stages of sleep:
- Light sleep: Which is most similar to being awake
- REM (or Rapid-Eye-Movement): Where our minds are asleep but active and where dreams are most likely to happen
- Deep sleep: Where our...
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Reflect on the day
Your evening routine is a fantastic place to reflect on what you did today.
Writing down a list of positive events at the close of a day—and why those events made us happy—lowers stress levels and gives us a greater sense of calm at night.
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Change your sleep environment
If you can’t sleep, it might be your room’s fault.
Excess noise and light can keep us awake. Temperature also plays a big role. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the ideal temperature for shut-eye is around ...
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Prep for tomorrow’s goals
Your evening routine doesn’t simply need to be about relaxation. The reason those thoughts keep our brains active long into the night is usually because we feel some aspect of our life is out of our control.
Spend time in the evening to write down your 3 MITs (Most Important Things) ...
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Related collections
Other curated ideas on this topic:
Get out of bed
The bedroom should be for sleeping. If you’re lying in bed for more than 15 minutes and not sleeping, just get out and leave the room.
Staying in bed while you’re anxious or not sleeping is one of the most common contributors to chronic insomnia because it trains the brain...
Waking up in the middle of the night
Waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep is a symptom of insomnia.
If you do not fall back asleep within 15-20 minutes, you should get out of bed, go to another room and engage in a relaxing activity such as listening to music or...
Don’t lie awake for hours
It takes many people between 20 and 30 minutes to fall asleep. So if you’re still awake after half an hour, it could be that you’re just not ready to sleep yet.
It might help to get up, go into another room, have dim lighting only and repeat some of your rou...
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