How to Build the Perfect Bedtime Routine

Here on the TeleHealth blog, we sing the praises of quality sleep often and loudly. We believe that sleep is one of the most overlooked and important aspects of a healthy lifestyle.

Over the years we have covered a variety of ways that sleep impacts your health including how poor sleep can lead to weight gain, a breakdown of sleep architecture, and even how to identify if you have a sleep disorder like apnea or insomnia.

Now, we are here to help you build a bedtime routine that can be customized to exactly what works for you. Read along for 8 easy steps to build the perfect bedtime routine.

Barriers to Quality Sleep

Sleep is so important for your body and mind because it is the time when your body conducts cellular and muscular repair, waste removal, and even helps you think more clearly during the day.

The problem is, our modern lives can make it hard to get consistent, quality sleep. Most people are under a lot of stress related to work, managing a family, and social and political pressures.

We are also more connected than ever, and not necessarily in a good way. How many times have you caught yourself scrolling through social media when you know you should be sleeping?

We are here to make the case that there is nothing more important than protecting your sleep and the best way to do this is to build a consistent bedtime routine that you can stick to no matter what.

8 Steps to the Perfect Bedtime Routine

We’re not here to tell you exactly what to do. In fact, making this routine fit your own personal preferences is a better idea than following someone else’s routine to a T!

So, take these ideas as more of a guideline for how to build a routine that works for you!

1. Consistency

Your body has a built-in regulatory system around sleep called your circadian rhythm. This system is the reason why you naturally wake up in the morning with the sun and get tired at night when it gets dark out.

In fact, your body responds to the sun going up and down by producing hormones related to waking and sleeping. Being consistent actually enhances this natural inclination to seek sleep at night.

By consistency we mean going to bed and waking up at the same time each day give or take about an hour, even on weekends. To take it further though, we also mean creating a routine that is consistent as well.

By sticking to the same routine, you reinforce to your brain and body that when you go through these rituals and habits, it’s a sign to start shutting down for the day and that sleep is coming soon.

The more you create consistency in your sleeping routine, the easier time you will have falling asleep once your head actually hits the pillow.

Keep this in mind as you go through the rest of the items on your list, making sure to form habits that you can be ultra consistent on.

2. Avoid Large Meals before bed

There are a few reasons why you should avoid large meals before bed, and the old wives’ tales about eating too much causing bad dreams has nothing to do with it!

While there is no known link between midnight snacks and nightmares, eating too much before bed can disrupt that circadian rhythm we talked about.

Too much food before bed can also effect your metabolism. Your body tends to store excess calories consumed late at night as fat while you sleep. Additionally, eating before bed is also tied to increased risk of diabetes, as well as high cholesterol, insulin, and glucose.

Finally, laying down too soon after eating can cause indigestion and acid reflux. The resulting discomfort makes it more difficult to fall asleep.

If you really need to eat, try to stick with something light like some veggies and hummus, an apple with peanut butter, some fruit and a square of chocolate, or some greek yogurt.

What these snacks share in common is a bit of protein and healthy fats and fewer carbs which can spike your blood sugar and keep you up.

Try your best to cut off food about an hour before bedtime, and if you want to go the distance, also avoid caffeine at least 6-8 hours before bed and avoid alcohol.

3. Dim the Lights

Remember that circadian rhythm we talked about? Well, it’s dependent on light to work properly, and not just sunlight!

Bright lights in your home, especially blue lights, can disrupt your body’s natural sleep cycles. As it gets darker, your body starts to produce melatonin in anticipation of sleep. Blue light suppresses the natural melatonin production.

You can help your body out by mimicking the sun in your home. When it starts to get dark outside, dim the overhead lights or switch to more ambient lighting like floor lamps and table lamps.

You can even switch to amber colored or warmer bulbs to create a more relaxing ambiance in your home.

Many smart TV’s, computers, and phones, have a night time setting that filters out some of that blue light for a warmer glow. You can change the settings or even set automatic timers for your devices to switch over to night mode.

4. Prepare for Tomorrow

Taking a little bit of time to prepare for the next day can help create a consistent nighttime routine and help you to reduce overall stress, especially stress first thing in the morning.

Once dinner is over and the lights are dimmed, take some time to go through a few things that will set you up for success the next morning.

Maybe you take fifteen minutes to tidy up all the clutter that accumulates during the day, finishing any abandoned chores, and load the dishwasher after dinner.

You could also take some time to pack your lunch for work, fill your water bottle, and even prep your coffee for an easier morning.

Have a lot on your plate? Take a few minutes to write down your to do list or set up your planner so that when you wake up, all you have to do is get started.

The key is, once you take care of these things, set aside tomorrow and lean into some much needed me-time. The point of preparing is to reduce stress, not create more of it.

5. Create a Relaxing Environment

Now that your space is tidy and the mood lighting is set, you can truly start to relax. A great way to do this is by creating a relaxing environment that you can truly zen out in.

You’ve probably heard the advice that you shouldn’t do anything in your bedroom except sleep or sex, and we agree. Keep work and other stressors out of the bedroom to keep it feeling more like a sanctuary than an office.

Additionally, make this room a space you feel safe and cozy in! We are proponents of making the bed everyday because it is that much cozier to climb into at night.

Make sure you have clean sheets on the bed, plenty of fluffy pillows and blankets, and your room is otherwise clean of clutter and other stressors.

You can further set the mood by lighting a candle or getting a room spray in a relaxing scent. The point is to create an environment that you want to relax in.

6. Hygiene Rituals

This is probably the most important item on the list and the most impactful part of your routine. If you aren’t sold on the other steps, you could just pare it down to the simple act of a consistent hygiene routine.

The thing to remember is that by doing the same routine every night, you will create natural environmental cue which your body recognizes as time to start winding down for bed.

You can keep it simple or create an elaborate hygiene ritual, do what makes you feel good!

Some ideas include the basics like brushing your teeth and taking a shower. However, you can elevate this routine by adding in some skin care, gua sha, brushing or braiding your hair, moisturizing, and getting into clean, comfy pajamas.

Your hygiene routine should be the anchor point and the ultimate sign to yourself that the day is done and you can relax.

7. Shut off Screens

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again today! Our phones are the number one offender when it comes to keeping us up past our bedtime.

Whether you are getting worked up by the daily news cycle or mindlessly scrolling on TikTok, taking in all that information late at night is incredibly disruptive to your circadian rhythm, increasing stress hormones and keeping you from fully relaxing.

Even with low light or night mode on, having bright light from a screen directly in your face before bed can make it hard for your body to recognize that it’s time for sleep.

Despite how hard it feels to put that phone away, you should really make an effort to cut yourself off from scrolling at least an hour before bedtime.

Make your bedroom a no-phone zone and plug it in across the room or even better, in a different room all together!

8. Do a Relaxing Hobby

Wondering what to do without those addictive screens? This is the perfect time to pick up a relaxing hobby.

Lately, we’ve been loving coloring and drawing, using markers and bold and easy coloring books that don’t require too much precision or overthinking.

You could practice another craft like sculpting with air clay, knitting or crocheting, calligraphy, or put together a jigsaw puzzle.

You could prepare a relaxing bath, or you could listen music or practice an instrument. You can also spend some time journaling, writing, or reading.

There are so many amazing and relaxing ways that you can spend this off-screen time. You might even gain a new skill, or get better at one you’ve been neglecting.

The key is to choose something you genuinely enjoy and which helps you shut off the chatter in your brain and truly relax.

Put It All Together

Sleep is one of the most overlooked and important aspect of a healthy routine. Quality sleep helps your body regulate your weight and hormones, when it does cellular and muscular repair, and helps your brain work better during the day.

Getting a good night’s sleep starts during the day, and especially depends on how you wind down each night. Creating a consistent routine helps to let your body know that it’s time to shut down and relax.

Build your routine in a way that works for you.

Start with preparing your space and tabling stressors for tomorrow. Then go through the motions of self care, getting your body into relax mode. Finally, put away your devices and invest in a hobby or activity that helps you relax.

Make quality sleep a non-negotiable part of your routine and see the benefits both physical and mental.