Here are some easy bedtime routine tips to help you experience that ever-elusive good night’s sleep. If it’s good enough for celebrities, then it’s worth a shot!
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In this article:
- Play White Noise
- Keep a Notebook or Journal by the Bed
- Go for a Walk
- Take a Relaxing Bath
- Leisure Reading
- Turn Off Your Electronics
- Maintain a Nightly Beauty Routine
- Keep In Sync with Your Natural Sleeping Cycle
- Exercise in the Daytime
- Clear Your Head Before Sleeping
- Learn How to Get Back to Sleep
- Set a Bedroom Temperature That’s Comfortable for You
- Be Mindful About What You Eat or Drink
Bedtime Routine Habits Straight From The Stars
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Why A Good Night Routine Is Helpful to Your Overall Well-Being
In our recent article, 6 Tips For a Great Morning Routine, we learned about the morning habits of highly successful people. But we soon also discovered that a solid bedtime routine is just as important.
Making time for self-care before going to bed at home can be particularly impactful to your overall well-being because it sets you up for a restful sleep. Sleeping well is essential to a productive tomorrow. Evenings also tend to be quiet and peaceful, making it the perfect time for creative pursuits and other enriching rituals.
Here are a few good sleep habits cribbed from popular celebrities you can try incorporating into your own nightly routine, to help recharge your body, and boost your mental focus and daily productivity:
1. Play White Noise
It may seem ironic, but for rapper Eminem, white noise helps him sleep because it helps block out any outside noise. Before the time of white noise machines, comedian W.C. Fields used his ingenuity to devise a makeshift rain machine out of a sprinkler hitting an umbrella, the only thing that helped his insomnia.
Luckily for light sleepers and insomniacs, there are many options for white noise that can be found on YouTube and other apps. When you’re ready for bed, cancel out any outside noise with a soothing rainstorm, waves crashing on the beach, or other calming sounds to help you drift off to a good night’s sleep.
2. Keep a Notebook or Journal by the Bed
While you might be tired from a long day at school or work, the evening is when your brain is often the most creative. Engage this creative energy by keeping a journal by your bed.
For fashion designer Vera Wang, her evening routine usually involves working on design concepts. She’s not alone — many creative types come up with their best ideas at nighttime.
Even though you have less energy at the end of the day, researchers believe that the creative brain hits its peak at night when it’s rested and relaxed. According to a study from Albion College, “this less focused cognitive state makes people more susceptible to think about other, seemingly unrelated information…[which] helps you reach that creative aha! Moment.”
In case you get a stroke of insight, keep a notebook or sketch pad on your nightstand. If music is your passion du jour, the evening can also be the perfect time to quietly strum a guitar or ukulele.
3. Go for a Walk
Emily Bronte, author of Wuthering Heights, went for long walks until she felt tired enough to fall asleep. Taking a walk before bed also helps Joel Gascoigne, the busy CEO of Buffer, to stop thinking about work and slowly find his way into a “state of tiredness.”
One study found that during a walk, the mind is in a more relaxed state, which can increase creativity and a free flow of ideas. If you’re struggling with a creative block or other challenges, a nighttime stroll might be the key to finding the perfect solution to everyday problems.
4. Take a Relaxing Bath
The magic formula for Oprah, one of the most successful women in the world, is taking a bath in the evening before bed.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, she called herself a bathing professional. “It’s a ritual… I have different bubble baths, salts, beads, and oils.”
After your bath, make your bedtime routine even more luxurious when you slip into a lace-trimmed bamboo kimono robe, a soft and feminine style that feels silky soft on the skin. You can also don a set of comfy pajamas for a more relaxed sleep. Elevating your bedtime garments gives you a little touch of sophistication to your nighttime routine and enhances the sleep experience.
5. Leisure Reading
Whether it’s a blog, ebook, or old-fashioned magazine or book, reading has been shown to fuel creativity, especially in the p.m. An avid nighttime reader, Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates spends an hour reading before bed every night.
Besides offering new perspectives and expanding knowledge, researchers from the University of Sussex found that reading for six minutes a day decreased stress levels by 68%. For his 2018 list of favorite books, check out his blog, “5 Books I loved in 2018.”
6. Turn Off Your Electronics
When it’s time for bed, media mogul Arianna Huffington designates her bedroom as a screen-free zone. This bedtime routine includes smartphones and laptops, which emit a light that can disrupt your natural circadian rhythms needed for optimal sleep regulation.
With the Internet, the world is at our fingertips 24/7, but sometimes, it’s healthy and necessary to unplug from the broadband melee of modern life. Right before bed is the best time to turn off your electronics, dim the lights, and ease into a restful slumber.
Circadian Rhythm Definition: Your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, which regulates your body’s alertness and sleepiness at fixed intervals.
7. Maintain a Nightly Beauty Routine
An evening skincare routine doesn’t have to be complicated. After your evening shower or bath, kick off your simple nighttime beauty rituals by wrapping yourself in luxury with an ultra-soft and plush Turkish terry robe.
Its fluffy shawl collar and a self-tie wrap fit securely and provide just the right amount of coverage for comfortably wearing over bare skin. Now, you’re ready for your usual skincare routine: Even a simple run of cleansing, toning, moisturizing, and applying eye cream is enough to give your skin a little extra TLC while also helping you wind down for the night.
Even celebrities know the importance of a nighttime skincare routine. Supermodel Doutzen Kroes makes sure she removes all her makeup with a rich cleanser. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker never neglects her puckers by swiping on some lip balm before turning in for the night — now that’s one way to make sure you wake up with kissable lips!
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8. Keep In Sync with Your Natural Sleeping Cycle
Maintaining your body’s natural sleep cycle is one essential factor in achieving a satisfying sleep. If you follow your sleep-wake cycle, you’ll feel the effects of more optimal sleep, compared to sneaking in random naps and sleeping whenever you feel like it.
To keep in sync with your natural sleep patterns, you should try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day. This helps set your body’s internal clock to create better sleep. Limit napping during the day as well as it can worsen the difficulty of falling asleep at night.
You can help “train” your body to recognize day and night times and respond accordingly. Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, turns to a lot of time in the sun and Vitamin C to regulate her body’s sleep cycles when she’s particularly jet-lagged.
9. Exercise in the Daytime
Exercise provides many health benefits, such as the promotion of quality sleep. Having a regular exercise routine contributes to better, more improved sleep. Beyonce herself makes sure her schedule permits a lot of movement — whether it’s swimming, dancing, or other exercises — so she can fall asleep much quicker come night time.
One study showed that regular exercise also improves the symptoms of sleep apnea and insomnia, thus helping increase the amount of time your body spends in the deep sleep stage. A light exercise, such as a 10-minute walk a day, can already aid in enhancing better sleep.
10. Clear Your Head Before Sleeping
If you’re always feeling burdened and overwhelmed, it’s best to try to clear your mind before going to bed. Anger, worry, and stress make it difficult for you to sleep peacefully.
If mental stress dominates your thoughts at night, try to find ways to eliminate it. Engaging in simple chores, creative pursuits, or even basic meditation can help you deal with your heavy or negative emotions. Kelly Clarkson has mentioned jotting down her thoughts (and what would eventually become ideas for new songs) in a notebook she keeps by her bed, as a way of clearing her mind before bed.
Effectively managing stress also helps maintain calmness, create a positive outlook, and promote better sleep.
Of course, if your chronic stress or mental health conditions are depriving you of sleep, it’s always safest to consult a medical professional to help you out.
11. Learn How to Get Back to Sleep
It’s normal to wake up briefly at night, but if you have trouble falling back to sleep, it’s important to find ways for you to easily lull yourself back to sleep.
You first have to not stress yourself out about your inability to fall asleep again. This stress alone encourages your body to stay awake. Actress Cheryl Hines experienced this particular kind of insomnia and sought professional help for it, and she reports improved sleep quality thanks to her doctor’s advice to not work out too close to bedtime and sticking to a strict sleeping schedule.
Try breathing exercises to calm yourself down back into sleepiness.
Make relaxation your goal, not falling back to sleep. This tricks your mind to not overthink about falling back to sleep, and just stay in a relaxed state.
12. Set a Bedroom Temperature That’s Comfortable for You
Body and room temperature often comes up because it does affect sleep quality. During the summer season, it may be hard to sleep because of the warmer temperature, and this is why you need to set a cooler bedroom environment.
Part of a good bedtime routine may require you be responsive to changes in weather and outside temperatures. You can simply adjust the room temperature when you sleep at night, depending on the season. If it’s too cold, you may need to secure a humidifier in your room to balance the temperature. Mariah Carey famously sleeps with several humidifiers near her bed, in order to ensure maximum comfort.
Bonus Tip! 13. Be Mindful About What You Eat or Drink
Your eating habits have created an impact on how you sleep at night. For example, consuming caffeinated food and drinks at night can undermine your chances of getting a solid night’s sleep. Consuming foods that fight drowsiness in the evening, for example, like coffee can affect your good night’s sleep.
To experience continuous improved sleep quality, limit minimize or avoid consuming caffeine consumption to 10-12 hours before your set bedtime. In the evening as it can lead to sleep problems when taken 10-12 hours after drinking. You should also avoid eating large meals too close to bedtime, as feeling too full can affect your chances of falling asleep. large amounts of meals at night as it can make you feel full for long hours.
Drinking too much before bed also interferes with your sleep, as too many trips to the bathroom can disrupt your ability to fall and stay asleep. Avoid drinking too many liquids as well as it allows you to visit the bathroom frequently in the evening. This can significantly interfere with your sleeping state.
Don’t forget to download, save, or share this handy infographic for reference:
Try establishing a bedtime routine that works best for you from our list of helpful tips, and get ready for your mornings to be more fulfilling and productive than ever.
Which bedtime routine mentioned above works best for you? What other healthy sleep habits can you share with us? Let us know in the comments section!
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 22, 2019, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.