Do you have a night routine?

[Li****]

I think routines are really good for us and our happiness, but sometimes I tend to forget about routines before going to bed. It's easy to get caught up in trying to finish stuff on your to-do-list or just get stuck in front of Netflix and just watching oooone more episode

These days I hear of so many people having trouble sleeping and I know a lot of us end up in bed scrolling through Instagram until we fall asleep and drop the phone on our face lol. So perhaps a good night routine is important for our overall wellbeing and happiness?

Do you have an established night routine? What do you do to wind down and get ready for bed? 

[Candy]

To be honest, some nights I'm guilty of looking at my phone until my eyes fall shut ? And I think it impacts my dreams. I noticed just last week that I have better mornings on the days I don't open my eyes and immediately look at my phone. I don't have a night routine per say, but I love to go to bed with a cup of tea around 9pm, and then either read or watch a movie until I'm sleepy. On most days I fall asleep within just a few minutes, and usually always sleep right through. I've been trying not to look at my phone or laptop screen at least an hour before sleep, but sometimes I just forget and do it until my head hurts ?

[Julius]

My input is not really on night routine, but some basic learning I made in regards to quality sleep. I bought an https://ouraring.com/ a few years ago to measure and improve my sleep. For me it was really insightful and has definitely added to some healthier routines:

• In general I aim to go to bed at similar times and not too far off the natural daylight rhythms, also always have 8+ hours of bedtime.
• I changed all my screens to suppress blue lights after 8pm to not mess with melatonin production, which is important to become sleepy and not wake up much
• Alcohol has a big impact on the resting heart rate. Even one beer an hour before bed takes a few hours of increased heart activity before the alcohol is washed out of the blood. So I only drink when i really feel like it.
• I usually don't eat after 8 or 9pm so that the digestive system is not busy processing the meal in the first hours of sleep. Late meals have a  impact on the resting heart rate in the first hour of sleep, this is usually the time of deep sleep.
• If possible I try to do sport a few times a week or at least do something like 10.000 steps per day, because physical activity during the day improves the deep sleep.
• On one point I tried using non psychoactive CBD-oil drops to calm me down before bed-time. I thought they were helpful.
• I keep the bedroom as tidy as possible. They say the less things you have in there and the more orderly it is, the better for your sleep. I also often air my room for 15 minutes before going to bed to ensure amply oxygen supply during the night.
• We live in a noisy neighborhood, so I tried a white-noise (which is supposed to improve sleep) or ambient sounds sounds during the night. Didn't feel a strong difference though and it hasn't become part of my routine.
• When I have trouble falling asleep or unwinding, I often to deep diaphragmatic breathing. Box breathing (4-5 second in, 4-5 second retain, 4-5 second out, 4-5 second retain, etc.) is also really helpful for calming the heart which then calms the mind.
• Lastly I recently learned that the gut health is very important for good sleep. As mentioned in my post here taking care of your microbiome has a very big impact on your sleep.

As you can tell, I spent a lot of time on this subject But I have to say it was totally worth it. While I can become quite passionate at times, it is definitely not one of these never ending self improvement obsessions, but just a form of self care. Sleep is tremendously important for the brain and has one of the biggest impacts on our happiness. I think continuously learning and experimenting on this subject is really beneficial for my overall well-being.

I hope my findings can help you too ?

[ma****]

trabajo mucho y llego a la noche cansada, pero cuando mi cerebro está dando vueltas algún problema personal.familiar, no puedo dormir.. Entonces mi rutina es: ver en la tele alguna serie ya vista que no contenga nada de violencia, y así duermo plácidamente sin necesidad de medicamentos. Creo que nada que estimule el cerebro a última hora del día es bueno para dormir

[Ro****]

I used to wake up each morning feeling glum about the day, reluctant to get out of bed, and lethargic. It took me over an hour to get my head in the day, then I'd be ok. This was despite having a life similar to my life now - friends, family all good, no significant money worries, and a job I loved. So what was going on? It turns out, I was just being unskilful with the way I was approaching my day.

One day, I stumbled across a story of a junior monk who went to his teacher with a similar story of how he awoke in the mornings, despite being a monk practising on the path. The teacher told him to do his normal night time meditation and body relaxation, then to say to himself something like: 'I have had a successful day and I am ready to rest. I will sleep peacefully for X hours. When I wake up, I will be ready for the new, precious day ahead of me.' Then, upon waking, you say to yourself, 'I have slept peacefully and I am ready for the precious day ahead of me.'

I started training like this 15 years ago, and saw results immediately. Gradually, I built up my skill to the point where now, I feel positive and ready almost straight away. 

Hope this might help some people - I love sharing this. 

[Pu****]

I am also in real need of this and mine is 

Gratuity Journal (Gratitude, list, positivity journal) 

Tomorrows todo list

Hair

Teeth

Face

Outfit for tomorrow

Fall asleep think about something that made you smile that day.

And yeah I feel a lot better when I do these. Especially the outfit. That is to big a decision to make in the morning. And why don't I always do this, I don't know hot weather or boredom, surfing the net, laziness. It works well when I do though. I like to keep it pretty simple too. 

[Gr****]

I drink camomile tea and avoid watching violent, scary or sad films or series . Lately I read a poem each night  from a new book I bought.