Here’s how I spend my evenings to wind down after busy days.
Bedtime should be for relaxing and taking time to yourself after a long day. I highly value this time to myself and I’m grateful that I can make the space for this kind of self care at this point in my life.
Sleep is so important to our overall functioning, yet it’s something I struggle with a lot. I’ve found that setting myself up for a good night’s sleep makes a difference. I don’t always fall asleep right away or sleep completely through the night, but having a solid bedtime routine helps a lot.
Making sure I get some movement in with yoga helps get out any potential zoomies ️ or residual energy that may have me tossing and turning in bed all night.
Cutting myself off from water 2 hours before bed helps reduce the amount of times I have to get up to pee, while putting away social media at least an hour before gives my brain time to decompress and focus on less overstimulating activities.
I hate getting into bed feeling greasy and grimy, so showering at night is a must. After I shower I take the time to do a relatively quick skincare routine (a nominal 4 steps compared to people on TikTok with like 20).
Once I’m dried off and in bed, I take a little while to journal my thoughts. This month I’ve been doing a 30 day journaling challenge and I’ve really enjoyed it. I also started incorporating some positive affirmations into my nighttime routine. I struggle with anxiety and racing thoughts, and doing these affirmations before sleep seems to help ground me and push away the negative thoughts that tend to seep into my mind as I struggle to count sheep.
What I’ve also found to be helpful for my anxiety and reducing stress is progressive muscle relaxation. PMR, which my boyfriend introduced to me, involves contracting each muscle group one at a time and combining the release of tension with deep breathing. This practice has helped me a lot with instilling a natural calmness over my entire body.
Finally, getting to bed between 10 and 11pm ensures that I get enough sleep to set me up for a good morning the next day. I’m notoriously not a morning person, so anything I can do the night before to set myself up for success is a plus. If you’re interested, you can check out my morning routine here!