Having a routine to calm your mind before bed is so important, especially for students! As a busy college student, your bedtime routine is probably at the bottom of your list of priorities. Between balancing school, work, and extracurricular activities, you may think that you don’t have time to establish a consistent nighttime routine! We understand the struggle, so we have compiled a list of activities to calm your mind and prepare your body for sleep.
As you start your bedtime routine, turn on a playlist with soft music. You can listen to instrumental playlists or music with words, as long as it is quiet and peaceful. You can find instrumental playlists for sleep on almost any music streaming platform. If you already have some favorite songs in mind, you can create a playlist of your own! We recommend looking at a few different playlists to get some inspiration for your own chill music combination. Playing the same songs every night will calm your mind and remind your body to start preparing for sleep.
Setting out your clothes for the next day will save you time and reduce your stress in the morning! Instead of scrambling to find a suitable outfit, lay out your clothes so that you can roll out of bed and put them on! That way, you won’t leave your dorm covered in clothes and can feel confident in your outfit. Plus, you can avoid the trap of complaining that you don’t have anything to wear! If you wash your hair at night, consider braiding it before bed so that you can wake up with heatless curls. That way you will have your outfit and hair effortlessly coordinated.
After you turn on your playlist and set out your clothes, turn on some soft lights. The bright, fluorescent lights in dorm rooms tend to create a harsh glare that is hard on the eyes. Instead of transitioning from a light-filled room to total darkness, go easy on your eyes! Turning on low lights will give your eyes time to adjust and trigger your body to calm your mind. Depending on the size of your room, your desk lamp may provide enough light to softly illuminate your room. If you have a larger room, you may need a few lamps to provide enough light for you to see what you’re doing.
Fairy lights are another great source for low lights! Along with being cute and trendy, they are also practical for creating a space to relax your body. Whatever low light source you use, make sure to buy soft light bulbs so that your brain is not overstimulated before bed.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes my skincare routine feels like it takes forever and a day to complete before bed! Finding a simple skincare routine has been key in helping me to relax before bed. If you have a consistent, clean, and simple skincare regimen, it will eliminate any wasted time and queue your mind to calm down after a rigorous day of studies and activities.
I love using Desert Essence skincare products because they are clean and cruelty-free! If you have sensitive skin, then you should check out their products. I use their thoroughly clean face wash, cucumber and aloe facial toner, and daily essential moisturizer. These products helped me create a consistent and simple nightly skincare routine, which encourages my mind to wind down for the day!
Stretching is a great way to calm your mind and body before bed. A regular stretching routine will make your joints feel looser and help you to sleep deeper at night! If you have been sitting at a desk all day, stretching will be especially beneficial so that your shoulder and back muscles do not lock up overnight. Stretching is equally beneficial if you have been on your feet all day because it will encourage your tired muscles to relax.
Try watching videos on YouTube to guide you through a stretching routine! These videos are typically only a few minutes long, but they will leave you feeling relaxed, peaceful, and sleepy. You can usually complete all of these stretches from the comfort of your own bed! But if you need more space, you can roll out a yoga mat or sit on a rug to spread out.
It can be tempting to squeeze in some more school reading after you have completed the other parts of your bedtime routine, but don’t fall into this trap! Set aside the homework and grab a pleasure book! Cuddle up with your favorite blanket and let your book whisk you away to a world free from school stress. Reading for just twenty minutes every night will calm your mind and tell your body that it is time to go to bed.
If you have limited lighting options in your dorm, invest in a booklight! Booklights clip onto your book and provide a soft light to illuminate the pages. Your eyes will thank you because they won’t have to strain to read the words in a dark space! Another cozy addition to your dorm room would be a chair pillow. These pillows come in all sorts of shapes and sizes depending on what you want, but they add a cute decoration to your bed and provide a soft place for your back to rest while you are reading.
After you’ve completed all the parts of this routine, your body should be ready for bed! Establishing a consistent routine to calm your mind before bed is one of the most beneficial habits to foster in college. Your body will thank you for establishing a healthy lifestyle that starts with a deep night of rest!
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