4 easy ways to relax before bedtime

This site may contains product affiliate links. I may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.

You’re tired from a long day at work, or looking after kids, yet you cannot unwind once you’re in bed. There’s too much on your mind to allow you to go to sleep. Instead, you toss and turn, scroll through Instagram, or end up resorting to a sleep aid. We’ve all been there. It’s not fun, and the more you stress about it, the worse it gets.

How can we rewrite our restless nights? One BIG help is setting up a consistent nighttime routine, that makes sense for your needs and settles you down before you hit the hay. It doesn’t need to be long! Here’s some thoughts on 4 easy ways to relax before bedtime:

Relaxing your brain

Unwinding from a stressful day may seem impossible if you’re already mentally writing a to-do list for the next day. Stop that constant loop of “I need to…” by getting it out of your head and onto a sheet of paper.

If something absolutely needs to be done that evening, try to get it done right away. I’ve definitely made the mistake of sitting down after putting the kids to bed thinking, “I’ll just take 10 minutes to rest, and then I’ll fold that laundry before bed.” …2 hours later, all I’ve done was find out what kind of pasta I am on a Buzzfeed quiz! Then, either I drag myself to bed only to lie awake thinking about what I needed to get done, or I keep myself awake way past my bedtime to finish the laundry, ruining my sleep schedule. .

For anything that can wait until the next day, I get it onto a to-do list — and not the mental one! An actual pen and paper list. Just the simple action of jotting down what’s in your brain onto paper can clear that late-night panic, and make sure you don’t forget anything once you really do fall asleep. Making a quick list of tomorrow’s to-do’s will help subconsciously relax your brain.

A friend who has been struggling with insomnia for years and has done a lot of research and trial and error and she swears the big thing for her was to go to bed with a relaxed, de-cluttered mind.  She highly recommended the book Good Night Mind for anyone who has a hard time turning off their mind before bed.

Relaxing your body

For a lot of people, a few minutes of light stretching or yoga before bed is beneficial. It’s telling your body to relax and repair — and it feels good! If you have a physical job, your body will thank you for taking this time. People that are on the computer for the majority of the day often deal with back and neck pain and can get headaches. Having that time to stretch out the areas you feel most tense or sore in will prep your body to relax and have a better sleep. Plus, if you do this every night as a part of your sleep routine, your subconscious will know rest will soon be coming, and the brain starts the melatonin response. If yoga or stretching isn’t for you, try a few minutes of meditation, or listen to quiet music while sitting or lying still. Focus on clenching, then releasing, each part of your body, starting from the toes. The release can help your body relax.

Relaxing your senses

There are lots of essential oils that are known to help you relax. Note: Use only pure natural essential oils, as opposed to synthetic fragrances. Although less expensive, synthetic fragrances have no aromatherapeutic benefits — they just smell good!

A cool tad of info: unlike synthetic fragrances, essential oils can trigger memories and emotions. For instance, rose oil when smelled could bring back a memory and a warm feeling of spending time with your grandma in her rose garden. The connection with your olfactory system and your brain is strong, and we can use it to our advantage! Consider if you were to take a bath and use a lavender bath bomb or soap each time at the end of the day. You will then come to associate the smell of lavender with the feeling of relaxation. So, while you are writing down your next day to-do list, stretching or reading a book, or having a bath, try diffusing some essential oils at the same time.

Here are a few essential oils that are great for sleep and reducing stress: Lavender, Ylang Ylang, Chamomile, Peppermint, Vetiver, and Bergamot. There are many more to mention, but these are my top favorites.

Relaxing your inside

I’m talking about Chamomile, one of the best drinks to have before bed!. A night cap– or maybe not. A lot of people wind down from a rough day with a glass of wine or a whiskey, but this can make your sleep patterns not ideal. Alcohol can indeed help make a person sleep faster and even deeper at first, but then it disrupts your sleep for the second part of the night and reduces your REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is the mentally restorative type of sleep. Instead of helping you, it’s robbing you of restful sleep.

So, try these proven, fall asleep drinks instead: Chamomile tea, valerian tea, warm milk, almond milk, cherry juice, and peppermint tea.

Finding your routine

Whatever you do to unwind before bed, probably the best thing you can do is to try to keep it consistent as then your brain and body will recognize sleep should be happening soon. Most parents create a consistent bedtime routine for their babies and children which creates predictability for the parents and comfort for the child, but then that gets lost somewhere in the tween/teenage years and definitely as an adult. So, if it can work well for children, why not again for us grown-ups? If we can find a routine that works to relax and prep us for a peaceful sleep, the best thing to do is keep it consistent… but it can also be the hardest. An easy way to stay on a regular sleep regime is to write down your actual regime and do it as a checklist, then after time it will become a habit that you won’t even think about, but just do. Always keep in mind if it needs to be tweaked, have that flexibility in there. Maybe instead of reading a book, listening to music or meditating. Instead of having a warm drink, try a warm bath. It’s also best if you can try to aim for a similar time to wind down and go to bed every night. Try to find what works for you and stick with it as long as it makes sense to you.

Sweet dreams!

Please comment below on what your favorite ways to relax are