Creating an Evening Routine

This week, in addition to my daily morning routine, I have been experimenting more with figuring out an effective evening routine. A lot of times, when it is time to go to bed I don’t feel ready, I drag my feet to start getting ready for bed, and I end up laying awake for a long time trying to invoke sleep. 

In the past, whenever I have taken more time to intentionally prepare for bed I always ended up feeling better and sleeping more easily.

And since I have been having some trouble getting a good night's rest recently, I figured it would be a good idea to create an evening routine.

When I have implemented successful evening routines, I have experienced the following benefits:

• I am able to close out the day on a positive note. There is always so much to do and I want to get as much time as possible with my loved ones. So, it can be hard to pull myself away from my day to get ready for bed. It feels so final and I sometimes don’t want the day to end so I get grumpy. But when I have an evening routine, I feel happier about winding down the day - I even look forward to it sometimes because I know it will help me relax and let go.
• I am better prepared for a good night's sleep. I feel more relaxed after doing an evening routine and I end up sleeping better. Rather than abruptly ending my day and jumping right into bed, a morning routine helps me calm down at a slower pace, which sets me up to sleep soundly.
• I am more intentional about creating an environment for sleep. When I am preparing for or doing an evening routine, I am more aware of what helps me sleep and what distracts me. I am less likely to check social media before I fall asleep or get into deep conversations with my partner because I realize that these prevent me from falling asleep.
• My mind is calmer. I am less “thoughty” and I worry less about little things after doing an evening routine. The actions I take help to slow down the racing of my thoughts and calm my concerns about the day.

So, what does an evening routine look like?

Since I am just getting back into establishing a regular evening routine, I am staying intentional about starting small. I don’t want to feel too overwhelmed early on in the process. And consistency is key, so if I feel intimidated by my routine, I won’t want to do it. 

Right now, my evening routine mainly consists of:

1. Gentle yoga and movement
2. Breath work or meditation

Other things I am experimenting with adding onto those two basics are:

• Journaling. Sometimes journalling can get me spun up around something I am working on or want to do the next day. So, the focus should be on wrapping up the day rather than planning for the next. One idea is to keep a gratitude journal to review your day and reflect on all that you are grateful for. 
• Having a warm tea or calming drink. Drinking a warm beverage makes me feel sleepy and the ritual of preparing a good-night drink is pleasant. The only potential issue to experiment with is how much you drink so you aren’t having to get up in the middle of the night. Another drink I love besides tea is warm chia seed water (1 tbsp of chia seeds in warm water - let the seeds soak and grow gelatinous). Chia is rich in fiber and many other beneficial vitamins. The biggest benefit I notice is increased regularity from the fiber.
• Playing calming music. Calming music can help relax me and feel more prepared to go to sleep. I try to find music that doesn’t have too many lyrics or is completely instrumental as sometimes lyrics get me thinking or, worse, they get stuck in my head as I am trying to fall asleep.

How to start an evening routine

1. Get ready for bed a little earlier - start with just 10 or 15 minutes. You want to have time to ease into sleep and you don’t want to feel rushed in your routine.
2. First, complete your normal bedtime activities such as brushing your teeth, showering or washing face, changing, etc. Try to stay present with each of these activities instead of letting the mind wander. As I mentioned above, perhaps play some calming instrumental music. It is good to do these first so that when you are done with your evening routine, you can fall right asleep.
3. In a separate room or even just next to your bed, spend some time in gentle movement. Stretch and do some gentle, restorative yoga. Avoid vigorous exercise that elevates the heart rate. We want to work on slowing down the heart and breath pace, so take deep breaths and relaxing movements.
4. Sit down by or on your bed and take a few minutes to breathe and/or meditate. Focus on relaxing the mind and letting go of thoughts and worries. Sometimes counting the breath can help focus the mind.
5. Lay down in bed in your favorite sleeping position and steady out your breath. Count your breath and try to increase the length of your exhales so they are slightly longer than your inhales. This will help calm down the heart rate and induce a more relaxed state.

What to avoid in your evening routine

• Screens. TV, social media, computers. Not only because they get you thoughty but the light from the screens affect our ability to sleep.
• Enthralling books. Books can potentially sidetrack us from sleep because we don’t want to put them down or they make us think so much that we have trouble letting go. Instead, try to find a book of poems or inspirational passages that will help calm your mind and think pleasant thoughts. 
• Anything that gets you spun up or thinking too much. This can include: starting intense conversations with your partner or friends; perhaps listening to music is too exciting for you; replaying events of your day; thinking too much about your plans for tomorrow; etc.

Try it Out

Try out an evening routine and see what works for you. It takes some experimentation to figure out what works and what doesn't work for you. As you are getting started, make a commitment to do some sort of evening routine every night for a week and see what effect it has.

Good luck and I hope you have many nights of restful sleep.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or need any support.