Are sleepless nights leaving you exhausted during the day? No matter how hard you try, do you wake up in the AM with barely enough energy to plow throw whatever life throws at you? Look no further than to these easy tips and tricks which will enhance your night routine, giving you the optimal amount of rest to take on the world!
Skipping this step of your night routine will make for a sure failure in terms of winding down, and it’s surprisingly easy to forget! Decompressing can look like a number of things, but the point of it is to let out any negative energy (or just energy in general!) that you might be carrying around with you and need to release before bed. Whether that means talking to someone on the phone or going for a short walk around the block, it’s super important to make sure you set yourself up for a good night’s rest.
Nothing sets the tone for setting off your daily battery like some good old fashioned aromatherapy. Warm, comforting scents that aren’t too dominating – like vanilla or sandalwood – are a perfect addition to your night routine because they’ll chill you out just before you go to sleep. And just as they would for a date night, candles are a great way to set the mood for bed time!
Ditch your desk lamp or overhead lighting and place several lit candles in your bedroom, allowing them do the illumination. Or, light a few in your bathroom just before you take off your makeup and brush your teeth to give instant low key vibes.
After you’ve taken off your makeup, indulge in a relaxing face mask!
I’m not sure why, but it seems like a face mask revolution hit society this year. With tons of options from your nearby drug store (or, if you’re feeling bougie, Lush), face masks are one of the trendiest and least expensive steps in everyone’s night routine right now. Your skin will thank you for doing this, and the process of applying one itself is honestly therapeutic; face masks are an easy, gentle way to tune your focus and wind down after a busy or stressful day.
However, I would advise against making this a regular part of your night routine, since face masks can not only wear down your skin if you do them too much, but they can lose their hype when they’re no longer a “once in a blue moon” type thing. But everyone is different; if you’re into it, you do you!
While you’re waiting for your face mask to “do its thing,” head over to your kettle and brew up some hot water – it’s tea time!
I love ending my day and easing into bed time with a warm cup of tea…decaf, of course. Herbal teas like chamomile are perfect for winding down, while green tea or ginger are the perfect detox picks, particularly if you’ve recently given into your sweet tooth. Plus, most teas are good metabolic boosters, so it will put your body’s enzymes to work while you catch those Z’s.
Tip: Adding honey instead of sugar to sweeten your tea is a good call to make not only for your intake for the day, but also because it’s extra soothing. Lemons are a good choice too, and they’re powerful antioxidants meaning your skin will thank you!
Okay, some people are not a fan of baths and I understand why. But you can not deny that these babies are relaxing AF! With some candles going, face mask on, and tea freshly brewed, throw some bubbles or a bath bomb in a tub of water, sit back, and relax. To amp up the relaxation level even more, consider playing an ambient playlist in the background while you focus on the water cleansing your skin.
Still not sold? A nighttime drop in body temperature is said to boost your chances of actually falling asleep, and also helps you experience a deeper sleep. Adding a room temperature (or colder) tub to your night routine will give your body more opportunity to restore itself while you sleep your heart out.
After your bath, it’s critical to moisturize your skin! Applying lotion to your skin right when you wake up and right before you go to bed is not only a good habit to form, but setting aside time for that specifically makes it easy to remember.
Moisturizing your skin pre-sleep makes for softer, more hydrated, and better looking skin the next morning, instantly starting your day off right. It also seals and repairs any dry or cracked skin that’s damaged by various factors throughout your busy day, like dry air. Plus, if you play your cards right, lotions can work like aroma therapies, and some even come with melatonin infused! Both of these things will definitely ensure you get that much needed rest, seriously enhancing your night routine.
Before you reach for your phone, consider this: blue light (your phone screen) inhibit your body’s ability to release melatonin, which you literally need in order to sleep. Reading, though, allows your muscles to relax, it slows your breathing, and calms you down – the perfect atmosphere for falling asleep. And if you have any anxieties or worries lingering from a busy day, reading provides a good distraction, creating an effective internal sleep ecosystem!
Poetry is a great choice for your nightly read because it’s mindless and thoughtful all at once, but historic novels or books without intense plots work too. The goal is to avoid something that’ll leave you with a cliffhanger or that will scare the pants off of you when you turn off the lights! We’re not trying to have nightmares out here.
After you’ve wrapped up that last chapter or sonnet, it’s time to shut off the lights and enter dream land. Breathing meditation is one of the most effective and quickest ways to fall asleep, even on nights when your mind can’t stop racing.
The more you strain your mind, the less likely you are to fall asleep. By being aware of your breathing – the pace, the movement of your chest, etc. – you will have one thing to focus on, and it’s something that’s not stressful or uncertain. If you conclude your night routine on that note, you should be out in an instant!
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