How To Establish A Relaxing Night Routine

If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a good night's rest keeps diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and a million other problems at bay. So how do we get ourselves together and get a good sleep on time while also taking the time to relax and calm ourselves to prepare for the next hectic day? All of the rush and anxiety gets to us during our daily schedules, often making us feel exhausted and near a burn-out.

This feeling can be combated by sleep and relaxation after supper is done, and it's time to prepare for sleep. Retiring to bed can alleviate many tensions, but for many, the activities done before finally falling to sleep are not. If you're a parent or a person who manages the household, it is common to feel extremely tired after cooking meals and doing the dishes. To get past this phase, one can establish a relaxing and a proper night routine while also pushing yourself to go to bed earlier than you usually do.

A night routine can be generalized but is going to be customized according to a person's lifestyle. What one should incorporate is mindfulness and relaxation at every point.

After work, one is likely to immediately start with cooking for the evening, in order to combat this urgency, I would highly suggest meals being prepared in bulk or at least the spices to be added (if perhaps in a North Indian household) such as garlic ginger paste to be made beforehand so at least part of the assembling of ingredients is done. And instead of immediately getting to cooking, one can take a shower first then relax with a cup to tea and then get around to cooking supper.

Supper should be light anyway so even if you decide to have a few dishes, it will suffice. Keeping your supper light will facilitate your digestion as well as give you sufficient time to do other calming activities. To fully get in the mode, it is advisable to wear light cotton clothes to sleep that are loose and airy, and socks should be off your nighttime wear. Having a skincare routine also prepares your face and rids it of the oiliness and dirt you acquire throughout the day. Brushing and flossing is a necessary component of dental hygiene, and anyone who wants to smell good can also put drops of lavender oil on their pillow so that the scent can make you destress.

Image credits: Herbesque

Other scents such as Vanilla often have a calming effect on our nerves, so a diffuser or a candle can be lit as a step in the routine. Chamomile tea is an excellent beverage to keep beside your bed, or if you prefer Earl Grey, the bergamot extract present in it works as a natural anti-depressant easing you for a better and relaxed sleep ahead. Some also say that warm milk makes you, so that too is a good alternative.

Melatonin, which is a hormone that regulates sleep cycles is released by the pineal gland and is released during the onset of darkness and night and keeps you asleep till the next day dawns. To not detract the melatonin, it is advisable to stay away from harsh lights and screen glares in the hours before your bedtime, so technology should be kept apart in those hours. In the absence of technology, one can do light bedtime yoga, read a self-improvement book, or engage in jotting down one's thoughts or even a to-do list for the next day.

For sound and temperature, it is believed that a cold temperature of 15 degrees is the best for sleep, and a white noise generator such as a fan's sound or gentle whirring or a produced sound of drizzling rain can be a good alternative for those who find silence is not the best when it comes to sleep. Being a techno generation, apps such as Sleep tracker and sleep cycle help in regulating your sleep as well as give tips and white noise tracks to facilitate your sleep.

These are some tips for a restful night so that mornings are better and not so nasty with all of the crazy rush and difficulty getting around. If one could incorporate these, it would be fruitful and yield positive results.