Routine before sleeping: how to do it right?

It is well known that sleep plays an important role in a person’s health. Nevertheless, in recent years, more and more people neglect their hours of sleep to be more productive.

Thus, it has become essential to develop routines before sleeping in order to spend a very restful and complete night. Also know that all the things we do before sleeping have an impact on our mood and our energy when we wake up. By having a good routine each night, your body and mind will be in good condition to absorb the benefits of sleep.

Having a routine also serves to alert your body that it’s almost time for sleep. This one will then put in condition thanks to the habit and you will start to feel the sleep coming. If you want to start adopting some effective little routines, we have prepared this guide that will… tell you what to do.

Why adopt a routine before sleeping?

Having a routine every night before bed can be likened to a kind of ritual that will help you in your well-being. By getting into the habit of performing your little routine, your body will move automatically and effortlessly as when you perform ordinary actions. Indeed, your body will register all the things you do in your routine and it will thus expend less energy.

The body takes about 3 weeks to remember the behaviors of a routine. After these 3 weeks, you can then perform them without too much effort, while signaling to your body and your mind that it is almost time to sleep.

What are the good habits to adopt for a good evening routine?

There are several best practices an individual can adopt in order to get the best night’s sleep. Here is a small list of habits you can adopt today:

Reading

Doing a bit of reading before sleeping is a common practice. Many people then embark on that of a good book each evening in order to find sleep. Important personalities like the former president of the United States Barack Obama or the founder of “Microsoft” Bill Gates are known to devour a few pages of novels every night in order to be able to sleep well.

However, it is important to note that reading before sleep should not exceed 10 minutes. Indeed, prolonged reading may slow down sleep and disturb sleep. This is explained by the fact that instead of getting tired, the brain will be stimulated by reading and it will on the contrary be more awake.

Refresh the room

We often think that being warm helps us fall asleep, because we feel more relaxed. However, the heat delays falling asleep and risks disturbing sleep.

According to the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV), the brain only falls asleep when its temperature drops. So by having a warm room, the brain will stay warm and this will stimulate it. Moreover, when we sleep, the temperature regulation mechanisms in our body are less good and we will then feel the heat more than is normal.

The INSV has deduced that the ideal bedroom temperature for a good night’s sleep should be between 16 and 18 degrees.

Stay away from screens

New technology can be very harmful to our sleep. Indeed, the blue light given off by our screens imitates sunlight. This blue light will then signal your brain to stop producing melatonin. This hormone is essential because it regulates your circadian rhythm and signals your body when it’s time to sleep or wake up.

This will result in a decrease in the quality of sleep and will lead to various problems related to lack of rest.

Avoid all snacks

Avoid drinking or snacking at least 90 minutes before bedtime. In this way your body will no longer be active at bedtime. Snacking and drinking can also give you cravings in the middle of the night and wake you up.