"Everyone is obsessed with morning routines. If you’re on my side of WellnessTok, a quick scroll will show a plethora of “5 to 9 before my 9 to 5” videos, or winter arcs centered around a 5:30 a.m. wakeup to fit in workouts and meditations. But my hot take (that I don’t think should be so hot): Nighttime routines are more important than morning routines. In our high-stress, active lifestyles with a myriad of sleep disruptors (looking at you, blue light screens and intrusive thoughts), we need to be highly strategic about how we prepare our bodies for sleep. Getting more sleep will be the biggest game-changer for your health and the quickest way to level up your life.
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“My hot take: Nighttime routines are more important than morning routines.”
When you sleep, the body works to repair itself: the brain removes toxins, the immune system fights inflammation and bacteria, the skin rejuvenates skin cells, and the growth hormone is released to stimulate muscle growth. The general recommendation is at least seven hours—and that’s just to sustain basic functions—but women often need more. To sleep for as many hours as possible and have the best possible quality (you’re spending enough time in each REM stage, you’re not waking up throughout the night, and you have optimal sleep latency), we can’t just turn out the lights and hope for the best. I am not a naturally “good sleeper” and have always struggled with getting enough, so I have done a lot of trial and error to find how to get the best sleep ever. Not to brag, but I think I’ve perfected it. Here’s the nighttime checklist that has transformed my sleep and therefore transformed my health.
Turn your phone on red light mode after sunset
Looking at screens in the evenings can negatively impact sleep quality or the time it takes us to fall asleep. Blue light disrupts sleep by suppressing the body’s release of melatonin, the sleep hormone that makes us feel drowsy. But I’m a young millennial who goes to TikTok for meal recipes and considers Pinterest self-care—of course, I’m addicted to my phone. Even if I set a boundary to not check social media, I go on my phone to play a meditation or answer a text (which can also lead to the occasional doom scroll), and any exposure to blue light can disrupt sleep. So I hacked my phone for better sleep.
For fellow Apple users, there’s a feature called Color Filters, which turns the entire screen to shades of red (or you can pick whatever color filter you want, like grayscale): go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Color Filters. Next, toggle on the Color Filters and tap Color Tint. Then, move the Intensity and Hue sliders to the far-right position to enable the red tint on your screen. You’ll just need to click your home button three times to enable the red light settings or switch it back to normal. I turn on my red color filter once the sun sets, when melatonin production begins. It not only helps to limit my exposure to blue light in the evenings but also makes me less likely to scroll (the tonal change is enough to make the apps less enticing).
Have a Sleepy Girl Drink
There’s something soothing about having a comforting drink to signal it’s time to begin winding down for the night. And why have a sleep-disrupting cocktail or glass of wine (alcohol has been shown to negatively affect sleep quality) when there are so many options that can improve sleep? Many people swear by the Sleepy Girl Mocktail, but I like to have a calming tea (such as chamomile or passionflower), an adaptogen “hot chocolate” that reduces stress (I like this one or this one), or magnesium in hot water (research—such as this 2021 study—shows that increased intake of magnesium improved sleep quality and duration). The ingredients will promote relaxation and set you up for sleep success, and the daily ritual will serve as a signal to your brain that it’s time to wind down.
Turn Off or Dim Lighting
The cardinal sin of a sleep routine: turning on bright lights. Blue light not only comes from screens but can come from overhead lighting or bright light bulbs. Even the smallest source of blue light can signal the body to stop producing melatonin, so turning on the light switch in your bathroom to brush your teeth or reading by a lamp can actually disrupt your sleep instead of winding you down.
But not all light is bad: orange or red light wavelengths can actually stimulate the production of melatonin. There’s some cool evolution behind this: The rising and daytime sun contains blue light rays (signaling to the body to wake up), while the sunset gives off red, orange, and yellow rays (signaling to the body to wind down). As soon as it begins to get dark outside, you will not find any bright or overhead lights turned on. We’re a mood-lighting kind of household: I view candles as a perfectly good light source, have orange-tinted night lights in my bathrooms, and switch to red bulbs for the lamps in my bedroom.
Take a Sleep Supplement
Disclosure: This tip is purely for the girls who are not inherently “good sleepers” or struggle with falling or staying asleep (me, me, and me). If you sleep decently well as long as you give yourself the time to do so, no, you do not need to spend more money on a problem that you don’t actually have, but the wellness industry convinces you that you need to fix. However, for a bad sleeper like me, a high-quality, all-natural sleep supplement has been a game-changer for falling asleep and staying asleep (and I’ve tested it with my Oura Ring sleep score). This is not the sleeping pill you had to get from your doctor in the ’90s; nowadays, there are many options that combine calming herbs and adaptogens to work with your body for sleep support and won’t disrupt your body’s ability to sleep on its own.
It took some trial and error to find the one that worked for me, but my nightly go-to is Arrae Sleep, which contains five natural herbs like Gaba and holy basil to help your body fall and stay asleep. When I know I may struggle more with sleep (like during a time change or after a particularly stressful day), I take Love Wellness’ Sleeping Beauty, which contains amazing herbs for relaxation in addition to a small dose of melatonin to stimulate your body’s natural melatonin production. But there are a lot more sleep supplements that may work better for you: Here are eight of the best.
Get in a Warm Shower or Bath
Not looking to spend any money at all? I got you (because wellness is more about what we can do than what we can buy). Taking a warm shower or bath may seem like a basic tip, but can make a big difference in your sleep quality. It’s not just good for hygiene or a #bathselfie; research published in Sleep Medicine Reviews said that taking a warm shower or bath one to two hours before bed helps lower your core temperature, which is a circadian sleep signal.
According to neurologist and sleep specialist Matthew Walker, it works like this: Our core body temperature changes throughout the day, with our highest body temperature in the mornings and our coolest in the evenings. To initiate good sleep and then maintain deep sleep, your core body temperature needs to drop by about two to three degrees. Submerging in warm water brings the blood to the surface, and then when you get out, your body temperature lowers (which is why you feel cold after getting out, though you were not cold in room temperature before). Taking a warm bath is of course ideal and a staple for self-care queens everywhere (throw in some Epsom salt for added relaxation!). But if you don’t have the time (or a tub), a quick rinse in the shower does the trick.
Put Your Legs Up the Wall While Reading
Reading at least 10 pages while putting my legs up against the wall is the ideal habit-stack that helps me get better sleep and sets up my mind and body for success the next day. Legs-Up-the-Wall pose promotes lymphatic drainage and helps to reduce inflammation or swelling, but it is also known to help calm the nervous system to promote relaxation for better sleep. Even The Today Show says that this pose will “help you fall asleep faster,” and based on my experience, they’re right. Because it helps your back release tension and allows blood to flow in the opposite direction, it can have amazing effects on the overall tension and circulation in your body, helping to calm the nervous system.
Reading is a key wind-down activity for me right before bed. As others with anxiety know (just girly things!), night is often the time when worry or overthinking can take over. Reading is a soothing activity that won’t disrupt my melatonin production like staring at a screen would, but helps me get my mind off of any worries or stress. It’s my little reminder that all is well and that I am safe; getting outside of your own head is a health hack that we don’t talk about enough but can make the greatest difference.
Wear Mouth Tape and an Eye Mask
Mouth taping is one of the weirder wellness trends of recent years, but it also has genuinely made a difference in my quality of sleep. The idea is that mouth breathing can lead to less oxygen in the brain and sleep disruption, while nose breathing can more efficiently get air into your lungs. Sleep.com says that nose breathing is more likely to net you a better night’s sleep—and I can concur. I like a silk eye mask to block out any other potential light sources that may be disrupting melatonin production (even the light from a clock or outside the window could cause disruption). I swear by this combo so much for optimal sleep that I will not travel even overnight without mouth tape and an eye mask. If I don’t look like I’m being kidnapped when I turn the lights off, I am not ready for optimal sleep.
Josie Santi, Senior Wellness Editor & Podcast Host
Josie has been an editor and writer for The Everygirl since 2017 and became a certified Holistic Health Coach in 2020. As the Senior Wellness Editor, she oversees, writes, and edits wellness content, as well as reports on wellness trends and interviews the industry’s leading experts. Listen to Josie on The Everygirl Podcast.