Sleep Habits

4 min.

28 April 2022

What should your bedtime routine be?

Sleep is a natural cycle which our body and mind should be able to do with ease, however, according to recent studies, 36% of adults struggle to get to sleep on a weekly basis and almost 1 in 5 have trouble falling asleep every single night. 1 This is why, here at Sleep Science by Emma, we’re passionate about helping you get a better night’s sleep, as it’s one of the most important aspects of your health and well-being. Establishing a good bedtime routine for adults is a simple task and once you get into this routine, your brain will shortly understand when it’s time to go to sleep.  

Enjoying this article?

Share it with the world!

What is a bedtime routine? 

A guiding idea of sleep hygiene is to establish and stick to a healthy, consistent nighttime routine, that is a series of activities you do in the 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime in the same pattern each night. Bedtime rituals vary, but they frequently include relaxing activities such as taking a warm bath, reading, listening to music or meditation. 

 

Everyone’s bedtime routine will be different, as we all have specific activities which make us feel calmer and more relaxed, but we can offer a few tips on what might help you when you decide to put one together. 

Cut out caffeine 

Caffeine is a stimulant that causes you to feel alert for a short period of time, which might disrupt your sleep pattern. Caffeine's effects normally peak around 30 minutes after intake. Drinking coffee or caffeinated soft drinks in the morning or early afternoon has no influence on sleeping in the evening for most people. Unfortunately, it can have consequences for up to seven hours after consumption, so it's better to avoid it in the late afternoon and evening. 

Avoid alcohol and nicotine 

Both smoking and consuming alcohol can interrupt your sleep pattern in different ways. Nicotine, like caffeine, is a stimulant that increases alertness and attentiveness. This is true for both smoking and nicotine patches. Smoking cessation is also linked to sleep disturbances, but these usually subside within a few weeks. Many people, on the other hand, fall asleep faster after drinking alcohol, but sleep issues may arise later in the night after the alcohol has been absorbed. 

Try stress relief techniques 

Stress plays a huge part in our sleep routines. There are apps you can download on your phone to practice mindfulness and meditation which may help you rationalise your worries and relax the mind for a deeper sleep. Yoga works in a similar way to distress the mind, as you are focusing on your breathing, alleviating any aches and pains, which can take your mind off a stressful day. 

Write a journal or to-do list for the next day 

A journal allows you to communicate any worries that are bothering you, avoiding any need to analyse them mentally in bed. 

 While journaling may not be adequate to alleviate acute anxiety or persistent stress, it can aid in the reduction of worried thoughts. Physically writing about the things that are bothering you can assist you in visualising them, departmentalising your thoughts and reaffirming your feelings of relief. 

Create a relaxing bedroom environment 

This is crucial for a bedtime routine, as a relaxed and sleepy environment helps the brain associate the room with sleep, therefore making it easier for you to fall asleep when you decide to call it a night. Here are a few things you can do to create this type of environment: 

 

  • Dim the lights - Our sleep-wake cycles are generally guided by our circadian rhythms
  • Try different scents associated with sleep - Certain scents are said to have relaxing properties that might help people relax and feel sleepy
  • Play calming music - As you get ready for bed, listen to gentle, soothing music to help release hormones that enhance your mood. Feeling mentally at ease can also help your body relax. While music may assist you in falling asleep faster and sleeping better, make sure you listen to soothing music. Music that is energising and enthusiastic is unlikely to have the desired effect. Slow music without lyrics yields the finest benefits.

Why is a bedtime routine important? 

Bedtime rituals assist our brains understanding when it's time to sleep by establishing habits. When you repeat the same things in the same order every night, your brain learns to associate those activities with sleep. 

 

Bedtime routines can also help you sleep better at night by minimising late-night stress and worry. Your mind and nervous system are activated by anxious thoughts and if left untreated, these ideas might become more intense and lead to insomnia. You can keep your thoughts focused on other activities and encourage yourself to relax instead by sticking to a nightly routine. 

 

Poor sleep can impact many factors of our lives, including our health, but it shouldn’t be something that you believe is irreversible. Our sleep experts have put together a number of resources on how to get a better night’s sleep, with physical and mental health advice. Find out more about us and our mission to help our readers who are suffering with sleep problems. 

Did you enjoy this article?

If you enjoyed it, don't keep it to yourself, share it with your friends!

Can music help you sleep?

There is a common perception that relaxing melodies can help you fall asleep. After all, parents have been singing lullabies to their children for centuries. But does this ring true for all age groups? Will your partner singing you a lullaby make you sleep? Can calm music aid in getting better sleep? The answer is pretty straightforward: yes! Loud sounds or noises make you feel agitated and annoyed, while soft, calming sounds help you relax and fall asleep.Research also shows that nature sounds such as rain, water streams and wind significantly improve sleep efficiency.
Sleep Habits

Sleep Meditation: Secret to Better Sleep

Have you ever experienced trouble in falling asleep?  You close your eyes but your mind keeps spinning so you cannot fall asleep? Well, sometimes our minds just won’t stop bothering us – and that’s where meditation can help. To fall asleep, our body and mind need to calm down and relax. Sounds simple, right? However, many people find this utterly difficult to do. Meditation, as a relaxation technique, may help you to quiet your body and mind while enhancing inner peace and balance. This is especially useful when you start focusing on worrisome thoughts at night in bed a time when you are not as easily distracted by other things as during the day.
Sleep Tech

8 Science-Backed Tips for Better Sleep

It’s well-established that getting quality sleep is essential to our physical and mental health. Getting a good night’s sleep is just as important as a healthy diet and regular exercise. But despite its importance, over the past few decades, people’s sleep quality and quantity have declined with a troubling percentage of 33% among adults not getting enough proper sleep. Many are seeking the best tips for better sleep because poor sleep has immediate negative psychical and mental impacts on health
Sleep Tips

Sleep Aids and What They Are For

With an ever-changing climate, there are numerous factors that can influence your day-to-day, including your sleep cycle. Natural sleep aids and over the counter sleep aids, when used correctly, can be a useful tool to drift off on evenings when sleep is challenging. Sleep aids have been proven to be some of the most common treatments for insomnia and other factors that could impact regulating sleep.     Sleep aids are only one component of the entire treatment approach for sleep problems because they could become addictive and may cause side effects. It is important to explore natural sleep aids and other techniques before looking at over the counter sleep aids. 
Sleep Aid

Sleep Meditation: Secret to Better Sleep

Have you ever experienced trouble in falling asleep?  You close your eyes but your mind keeps spinning so you cannot fall asleep? Well, sometimes our minds just won’t stop bothering us – and that’s where meditation can help. To fall asleep, our body and mind need to calm down and relax. Sounds simple, right? However, many people find this utterly difficult to do. Meditation, as a relaxation technique, may help you to quiet your body and mind while enhancing inner peace and balance. This is especially useful when you start focusing on worrisome thoughts at night in bed a time when you are not as easily distracted by other things as during the day.
Sleep Tech

8 Science-Backed Tips for Better Sleep

It’s well-established that getting quality sleep is essential to our physical and mental health. Getting a good night’s sleep is just as important as a healthy diet and regular exercise. But despite its importance, over the past few decades, people’s sleep quality and quantity have declined with a troubling percentage of 33% among adults not getting enough proper sleep. Many are seeking the best tips for better sleep because poor sleep has immediate negative psychical and mental impacts on health
Sleep Tips

How to ensure your baby is safe as they sleep

By now you know that babies have a crazy tendency of sleeping in various bizarre positions. Some might even seem funny, but it’s always better to ensure they sleep in positions where they are not just comfortablr, but also safe. Since babies spend 70% of their time asleep, let’s look at simple precautions one can take as a parent to ensure safe sleep for your baby. Here at Sleep Science, we recommend the following safe sleep guidelines to reduce, for instance, the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Baby Sleep

Product Review: White Noise Machines

Have you ever experienced trying to sleep with a lot of background noise, only to find out you are unable to? We are sure you’ve tried options like putting on earplugs or stuffing your head under the pillow, which probably did not work as good as you had hoped. Thankfully, white noise machines have recently been made available to help troubled sleepers ignore disruptive background noise so they can sleep peacefully. Sleep Science wants to help everyone get the best night’s sleep. That’s why we have reviewed and tested some popular white noise machines to help you drown out the noise that keeps interrupting your sleep. But first, let’s get you informed on what these machines can do.
Product Ranking

Product Review: Philips Smart Lightbulb

It is now well-known: light is one of the essential elements in our sleep-wake cycle. Indeed, the type of light present in the environment is connected to producing different kinds of chemical compounds. To understand this, we can take a look at the diurnal variation of light. While there is more bluish light, we are more inclined to produce excitatory hormones (first and foremost cortisol). On the other hand, during the late afternoon, when the light is reddish - hormones are linked to more relaxing effects (i.e., melatonin). Notably, the production of hormones affects our sleep-wake cycle and interacts with our mood, emotions, and feelings. In other words, the type of light surrounding us, and therefore the type and quantity of hormones produced, influence our mental life. The reasons listed above make it clear why many sleep experts recommend meticulous care in setting home lightings, particularly in the bedroom.
Product Review