INSIDE: Good sleep is essential for both mind and body wellness, but it can be difficult to obtain for multiple modern reasons. Difficult, but not impossible. A customized healthy bedtime routine can be the thing you need to help you sleep better, wake up refreshed, and feel ready to face the day.

Nighttime rituals typically hold the strongest influence on sleep quality, independent of anything else that is going on in our lives. After all, our evening activities have a significant influence on our ability to fall asleep and remain asleep each night.

A healthy nighttime routine allows for a sense of closure and reflection at the end of the day. By setting aside time for introspection, we can attain a serene state of mind by taking time to unwind and reflect on the events of the day. This enhances our sleep quality, as well as our mental health by helping us to process and release any tension from the day. 

7 Healthy Bedtime Routines to Start Tonight

As important as a healthy morning routine is for our well-being, a decent night's sleep is needed for a bright morning and a productive day. 

Let's dive into 7 proven and simple things to do as part of a healthy bedtime routine that will help you clear your mind and prepare for success before bed...

Create a Relaxing Environment 

Creating a peaceful and calming atmosphere to help signal to your body that it's time to wind down for sleep can be a useful jumpstart to any healthy bedtime routine. You can achieve this by setting the mood with candles, soothing sounds, or even just sitting in a comfortable position doing breathing exercises with crystals nearby.

If you choose to utilize healing stones to help with your healthy bedtime routine, be sure to use crystals that carry energies that assist in relaxation and tranquil sleep.

For example, Amethyst would be a good choice because it is deeply linked to the subconscious psyche and can help with rejuvenating sleep. Lepidolite is linked to the third eye chakra and can positively influence sleep, rest, and dreaming, making it a perfect choice for restoring healthy sleep habits.

Keeping these crystals in plain view in your bedroom also serves as a tangible reminder to prioritize self-care and your well-being before sleep.

Practicing Relaxation Techniques

Deep breathing exercises, gradual muscle relaxation, guided imagery, aromatherapy, and moderate yoga or stretching are among the many relaxation strategies that can be incorporated into your healthy nighttime routine.

Deep breathing exercises include taking slow, deep breaths to relax both the mind and the body. Progressive muscle relaxation is another technique that includes tensing and then relaxing specific muscular groups. Incorporating one or more of these approaches into your nightly routine can help you create a tranquil and chill atmosphere that promotes healthy sleep and general well-being.

But there's one thing that you must be aware of, and it is closely related to the next point and all points. Make sure your healthy bedtime routine activities don't require a phone. If you do need your phone for a timer or some ambient sounds, just keep in mind that less phone time is a major point of a healthy bedtime routine.

Avoid Electronic Devices 

The physical advantages of limiting our phone usage in the evening as part of a healthy bedtime routine are considerable, but the most significant consequences are on our emotions and circadian rhythm. The reason behind this is that blue light from electronics has the most damaging influence on our circadian rhythm since our bodies mistake blue light for daylight.

By the evening, more often than not, we’ve already been on our phones too much. Put it away and enable yourself to completely engage in your evening ritual by eliminating any distractions caused by your electronics. 

Record Keeping

Whether you call it a journal or diary, writing down positive thoughts and experiences before bedtime can promote positive emotions and calm your mind enough to prepare for sleep. Keeping a journal or gratitude diary also helps us reflect on our day and identify areas for self-improvement, which can further promote personal growth and well-being. 

Writing before bed can be a great supplement to a healthy nighttime routine. Writing down our thoughts and feelings helps us process and release any unpleasant emotions or tension from the day, resulting in a night of more tranquil and restful sleep.

A diary can also help us measure our progress toward personal objectives and reflect on our personal evolution over time. It is a simple yet effective method for increasing self-awareness, introspection, and relaxation.

Give Yourself Enough Time

The main purpose of a healthy bedtime routine is so that the good night will roll into an organized, well-planned, good day and the process hopefully repeats itself. But the routine won’t be effective if it’s being rushed through just to get in bed by a certain time.

If your healthy bedtime routine usually takes an hour to complete, for example, and you want to be in bed at 10:00, then 9:00 would be a good time to start. It seems like such a simple concept, but in the course of a long day, 10:00 can sneak up on us before we’ve even had one thought about starting our healthy bedtime routine.

Because of the frequent hurrying associated with family and job obligations, rushing through chores only to meet a deadline has become all too common. Rushing through a nighttime ritual would have the opposite impact intended, therefore it's not worth it. The term "hurry sickness" does not refer to a medical disease, but rather to a sensation of extreme time urgency, which is usually unwarranted.

Read Real Books Before Bed

Reading real books before bed is an important strategy to include in your healthy bedtime routine. Real is the keyword, and here’s why.

As we mentioned before, blue light after sunset inhibits our body's normal surge of melatonin, interferes with our general relaxation levels, and delays our attempts to go to sleep. ‌

On the other hand, good old-fashioned paper books provide a welcome respite from the haunting glow of technology. Simply looking at something that does not generate strong lights after a day on the computer and phone allows the body to automatically relax and go to sleep.

Reading a real book for only 20 minutes a night, as strange as it may sound, may be a better part of a healthy bedtime routine than most techniques because of its simplicity. No need for any training, equipment, or preparation. Simply keep a book with positive or inspirational subject matter next to your bed.

Final Thoughts

There's so much material in print and online that tells us that proper sleep is vital for our health and that lack of sleep can lead to irritation, difficulty concentrating, and overall poor performance. Nonetheless, one-third of individuals in the United States sleep less than seven hours each night on average.

Creating and sticking to a consistent healthy bedtime routine may be easier said than done, but the work will be well worth it, and your body will thank you in several ways.

* Crystals and stones should not be used as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Please read our full disclosure notice here.