Most people don’t want to hear about an ultimate night routine. Shouldn’t we simply chill after a long day at work? Watch a few episodes of the newest Netflix series until we eventually fall asleep? All of this might sound tempting but it deteriorates your quality of sleep, affecting your productivity the next day.
A good night’s sleep is an essential condition for a successful morning and a productive day. The following are some of the best evening habits to clear your thoughts and set your mind for the upcoming day before going to bed:
- Make your To-Do list for tomorrow — Try making a list of tasks you want to tackle the next day — especially if you find that worrying often keeps you awake. Writing a to-do list can not only help you be more productive the next day but can help establish peace of mind for you to sleep better. The next day all you gotta do is, make some essential changes to the list and get to work!
- Reflect on your day — This will take no more than 5 minutes a day but can have a tremendous effect on your personal development. Consider what worked and didn’t work today. This helps you appreciate your accomplishments, and shape a better tomorrow. Start by acknowledging one or two things you wish had gone better, and end your reflection by thinking of a few wins you had. Even if you had a bad day, make an effort to end by thinking about something good that happened. Write lingering thoughts or reflections in your journal. This keeps you from going to bed with a head full of worries.
- Do some reading — A better alternative to looking at your phone is to read a book. If you find it hard to get yourself to sleep, add this to your night routine. Not only will you bring the essential practice of reading daily, but you’ll also learn new stuff, get inspired, and/or come up with new ideas. It will help you calm your mind and get ready to sleep.
- Practice gratitude journaling — Write down at least 3 things you’re thankful for each day. Making expressing gratitude a part of your routine can help you lead a healthy and happy life. The more you make an effort to notice the things that you feel thankful for, the more you prime yourself to just naturally feel grateful instead of having to work at it.
- Take care of your hygiene — Don’t forget to brush your teeth and wash your face before bed. This practice is extremely important, it helps you regulate your hygiene, and does not allow acne or bacteria to form. This is basic. Start from the simple practices and then curate a skin routine for yourself.
- Meditate — I know many people may find it arduous to make time for meditation in the morning hours, if you are one of them, try meditating at night hours. Regular meditation practice can help you relax physically and mentally. Mindfulness meditation, in particular, may help improve your ability to release the day’s stress and tension in preparation for a good night’s sleep. Meditation can also help reduce behaviors that keep you up, like cycling through anxious thoughts.
Apart from these, you can also listen to calming music. It is significantly important to set a bedtime that you can follow every day. When you sleep and wake up at the same time every day, it helps your body regulate and sleep better. Try to accomplish all your night rituals without having to look at your phone, and abstain from using electronics for at least an hour before you fall asleep.
The first few nights, it will be a bit difficult for you to stick to your routine but stay determined. If you’re disciplined, you will get on track with your routine. Everybody has a difficult routine, here I’ve only included practices that I think you should most definitely include in yours. Your routine can be as extensive or as compact as you want.
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