My Not-So-Fancy Tips for a Healthy Sleep and Nighttime Routine

July 1, 2018

Sharing my not-so-fancy sleep and nighttime routine with you! Everything I do to try and get the best night sleep with as little effort as possible. — photo by Pura Soul Photography

Sharing my not-so-fancy tips for a healthy sleep and nighttime routine with you! Everything I do to try and get the best night sleep with as little effort as possible.

SLEEP! My favorite activity after eating and going to the bathroom (no shame). Jord and I are pretty much like babies who thrive of the whole “eat, sleep, poop” routine. Yeah, I said it. Some of you may think that is a little much but these three basic activities give me the most happiest and satisfaction.

Sleep is something that we’re either good at or struggle with. For the most part I’m a solid sleeper. I need my 8 hours a night and on the nights that I’m not lucky enough to get it, the next day is seriously rough for me. We want to wake up with a jolt of energy, not feeling all sluggish like we pulled an all nighter. It makes the dark circles under my eyes horrific, my hunger is insane and I’m just cranky if I don’t get my sleep.

Each of our sleep needs vary and every one is different in how much they need and how well they sleep. But there is one thing we all have in common – we all do need sleep. Even those who claim to run on a couple hours. Everyone’s sleep routine may be different but sleep itself is something we all need to support ourselves mentally and physically. I’m not a napper and have never been. I like getting one quality sleep cycle in each night and napping disrupts that for me.

I’ve been asked many of times what my nighttime and sleep routine is. I hate to break it to you but it really isn’t anything fancy. I like to keep things at a minimum around here so I don’t require a crazy amount just to get some good shut eye.

I’m also not someone who wakes up with the sun. I enjoy sleeping in until 8am/9am on weekends and usually 7am/8am I am up on weekdays unless there is something else going on. Others thrive off waking up at 5am before the sun and having that time of peace. I personally am wicked and you do not want to be around me before 7am (just ask Jord and my family!).

Let’s walk through my tips for a not-so-fancy sleep and nighttime routine..

Sleep in full darkness
1. The first thing I said to Jord when we moved into our current apartment was, “we are getting black out shades. i don’t care how much they are”. And we did and it was worth it. Our room is pitch black thanks to our black out shades we sleep with. It can 12pm in the afternoon and our room is still dark. When I sleep somewhere that has light that creeps into the room in the morning, I feel disrupted and I’m not usually ready to wake up yet. Some people do love waking up to natural light as their alarm clock but I have found I get my best sleep when it stays pitch black.
NO technology, night lights or clocks in the bedroom
1. That’s right – we do not have a television or alarm clock in our bedroom. I refuse to let any type of digital light shine when I am sleeping. Even in hotel rooms, I unplug the alarm clock or cover it with a towel. I wake up to pee a couple times and the last thing I want to do is know what time it is. Especially if its 6am and I know I only have an hour of sleep left. I mentally won’t be able to fall back to sleep then. We also don’t have a television in our bedroom (I won that battle). I don’t like looking at the TV right before bed and I know if we had one, Jord would want to stay up later binge watching some show on Netflix. I also don’t look at my phone once the lights go off or use it in bed at night. I sleep with my phone facedown on my dresser and use that as the alarm. Any lights send signals to our brains to stay awake.
Invest in a white noise/air purifier machine
1. Anyone who has trouble falling asleep or has nosey neighbors like us, this is so needed in your bedroom. We have the Dyson Pure Hot+Cool Link Purifier and it was the best idea ever to get this. You guys know I’m a dedicated Dyson gal. I have a variety of their products but the purifier is by far my favorite. Not only does it cleanse the air by removing 99.95% of all allergens and pollutants around us when we are sleeping, but it has a fan setting and blasting it to #8 is the perfect white noise to sleep to. It helps drown out any background noise and it has setting to dim the light so doesn’t impact the darkness. Plus it helps keeps the room cool (which we will get to soon). This is the one we have. Totally worth the investment (we have two!) and it is pretty chic if you ask me. It has changed my sleep quality so much over the past 6 months of sleeping with it!
Turn on the ceiling fan/Make the room as cool as possible
1. Another key part of my nighttime routine is turning on the ceiling fan. It adds additional white noise plus a cool breeze when I am sleeping. I tend to run very warm at night so keeping the room cool is so key for me to sleep. I like to be wrapped like a burrito when I’m sleeping. We keep the room at 68/69 degrees and it is the best temperature. With the ceiling fan, AC and our purifier, the room temperature is perfection.
Keep essential oils next to your bed
1. I recently started applying lavender essential oils to my wrists at night and inhaling it before going to bed. Takes 10 seconds and the scent of lavender is the most relaxing and calming. You can also use a diffuser if you prefer instead of applying it to your skin.
Washing your face before bed
1. Sounds simple, right? But believe or not many of us do not do this. I use cleansing oil to wash my face every night to wash off the dirt that builds up during the day. Morning shower people, this is key for you too. The dirt build up gets on your pillow case and it’s gross! Cleanse face is a happy face for sleep friends. I add facial oil on top too because my skin is dry and it helps hydrate it.
Cut caffeine intake in the afternoon
1. I’m not a big caffeine drinker besides booch so this isn’t too tough for me. But if you’re sensitive to sleep, caffeine may be impacting your sleep cycle. Try to limit your intake in the afternoon if your sleep schedule has been off lately. I apply this to anything but chocolate though because dark chocolate after dinner is non-negotiable (and I know it doesn’t impact my sleep!).
Have a bedtime on weeknights
1. Remember when our parents used to make us go to bed at a certain time for school? My bedtime was 7:30pm in elementary school. I still remember it because I was the weirdo who would want to go to bed. Now Jord and I usually go to bed by 10:30/11pm every night. It’s when my body feels tired and ready and I get my 8 hours by hitting the hay at this time. Sure there are some days its later and some earlier but I try to consistently go to sleep at the same time every night. The bedtime feature on the alarm app on iPhones is amazing and actually tells you when you need to go to bed to get the amount of sleep you want! Highly recommend it.
Limit your nighttime exercise
1. Working out raises our energy levels, increases cortisol and usually as me bouncing off the walls after. Unless it’s a yin or restorative yoga class, evening workouts aren’t my thing. I feel to energized to go to bed and my energy levels feel all out of whack. A gentle 15-20 minute walk after dinner is another great way to get in light exercise if you are craving movement. Everyone’s work routine is different so if evening is only time that works for you and you sleep well, then go for it. But I personally cannot workout and then hit the hay.