It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of daily routines; I’ve talked openly about my love for them in the past. I truly feel like how you wind down from the day sets the vibe for how you sleep that night, which carries into the following morning after you wake up. Going to bed anxious, frazzled, and stress won’t give you a good night’s sleep the way going to bed calm, placid, and with a clear head will, which is why I have a ritual when it comes to unwinding and releasing tension from my day, along with a nighttime routine that helps keep my life as balanced as possible.
Go to bed with me in this confessional and learn my nighttime routine and how I unwind.
My nighttime routine and how I unwind:
4:00-5:00 pm: finish work
Although there are days where I’ll end up working later into the evening for whatever reason, I typically try to stop my work day between 4:00 and 5:00. I do this for many reasons, one of the biggest ones being that by this point I need to rest my neck on a flat surface to try and prevent the pain from worsening (a practically impossible task, but one I still try nonetheless.) The other big reason I stop my work day at this time is because creativity vibrates at a higher energy level; it uses up a lot of energy and easily takes a lot out of everyone. Basically, it can drain someone very easily. I’m a very creative person, and I love being able to exercise my creativity and passions through this blog, and in order to keep my creativity flowing and my mind calm overall, I’ve found that stopping my day around this time works best. Doing this helps stop my creative energy from being drained and taking all of my mental energy out of me for the next day.
Another thing that I’ve noticed more recently is that my mind keeps going, going, going. I’m constantly strategizing and thinking about the blog, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but also doesn’t give my mind a break, and eventually drains me as well. Stopping my work at this time also helps slow my mind down and reground me for the evening and following day. I think it’s important for everyone to give their minds a break in order to regroup, reground, and come back stronger and clearer the next day.
5:00 pm: snack + watch TV
I eat dinner a little later on in the evening, but I’m usually hungry again around this time so I’ll have a snack and watch TV. Doing this also helps clear my mind and do something mindless, and also helps keep my neck in a more neutral position. Some of my snacks include but aren’t limited to, my version of peanut butter and chocolate cereal made with organic peanut butter puffs and chocolate Cheerios, any special desserts I may have picked up from my local bakery or any other desserts (I allow myself up to 4 cookies each day, balance people, balance). I recently picked up dairy and gluten-free shortbread cookies by the brand Schar, and they’re great because they satisfy my sweet-tooth, have a serving size of 5 pieces and only 6g of sugar! I have all of my sweets with a glass of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. For my full food diary and breakdown of what I eat in a day, check out this post here.
6:20 pm: skincare time
I cheat a little with my nighttime skin care by washing it earlier in the evening because it just makes my life so much easier than doing it later while trying to get ready for bed would. I start my skincare routine by washing my face with the La-Roche Posay hydrating gentle cleanser, then follow it up with the Kylie Skin Vanilla Milk Toner, the ArtNaturals Retinol Serum, and finish it off with the Garnier 24H Water Rose Moisture Cream and TooFaced Lip Injection extreme lip plumper for hydration.
6:30 pm: video games or read
The activity I do during this time varies depending on the day. I’m obsessed with The Sims 4, but I don’t like spending a lot of extra time on the computer in front of a screen. If my neck’s feeling OK and I’m dying to play for a little bit, I’ll allow myself about 30 minutes or so of playing time. If not, I’ll read.This is my time to unwind before I start getting dinner ready.
7:00 pm: cook dinner
I like to plan dinner ahead of time, either in the late morning or early afternoon, so I’m not scrambling when it comes time to cook. If I’m thawing out any meat for the meal, I’ll make sure to take it out earlier in the day so it has time to thaw properly anand if I’m thawing out any meat I’ll make sure to take it out earlier in the day to make cooking a lot easier for me. If I have something going on early the next day, I’ll usually stick to making something simple like my tuna fish rice bowls or red lentil pasta. If I have more time, I’ll make something else like my spaghetti and meatballs (homemade garlic bread on the side, of course).
7:45-8:00 pm: dinner and quality time with my boyfriend
Every night, my boyfriend and I eat dinner together and watch one of our shows. I always look forward to this time of night, and it’s great to spend time with him. Right now we’re binge-watching Homeland.
10:00 pm: clean up and get ready for bed
My boyfriend and I have a great thing going on: he does the cleaning, and I do the cooking. I hate cleaning and he enjoys it, so it’s a win-win for both of us. Around 10:00 is usually when we’ll turn off the TV, start to clean up from dinner, and get ready for bed. While my boyfriend’s doing the dishes I’ll take my medicine, fill up my water bottle, grab whatever book I’m reading, and head upstairs to brush my teeth, floss, apply my nighttime moisturizer, and change into my pajamas.
10:30-10:45 pm: read in bed
Since moving in together, my boyfriend and I have read together in bed every night. Reading is truly the best way to relax and shut your brain off before going to sleep, IMO. Not only that, but I feel like it helps you get to sleep faster. I read from an actual book rather than a kindle or e-book because prolonged screen time tends to keep me up, and you really can’t beat the feeling of holding a book in your hand.
11:15-11:30 pm: sleep
I usually start drifting off while I’m reading (I wasn’t kidding when I said it helps put you to sleep faster). When I start drifting off will depend on how tired I am that night, sometimes it’ll be instant, while others it’ll take a bit longer. (And if I’m nearing the end of a book that I’m engrossed in I’ll have a much harder time putting it down.) Either way, my boyfriend and I try to shut the lights off by 11:30. We try to do this on the nights we’re not tired at this time as well, that way we can just go through the motions and eventually be carried off to dream land. I think with time we’ll start getting to bed a bit earlier, but this is what’s been working for us for now. In the morning, it’s time to get up and do it all over again.
Check out my full morning routine here.
