I talk about the importance of self care & creating a morning routine, but having a solid night routine is just as important. Your night routine is just as important because it allows you to prepare for the next day!
There’s no confusing feeling like waking up in the morning, feeling unprepared & not really knowing what you’re doing. Personally, I hate that feeling!
How would it feel to wake up in the morning, feeling refreshed, prepared & ready to take on the day?!
That’s the exact strategy that I’m laying out in this post & I hope you find it helpful in creating your own night routine. For even more insight in getting prepared to tackle the day, check out my post on preparing for the best week ever!
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Turn electronics off an hour before bed
Like a lot of people, I have always enjoyed laying in bed, watching TV until my eyes get sleepy and about to fall asleep. I also got into a habit of doing some social media scrolling at the same time as well. But, when I started having a hard time falling asleep, I was experiencing some extreme anxiety and those things started to not help me out at all. I know a lot of people mention turning off electronics, but watching TV & scrolling really did help me out in terms of helping me fall asleep (so I thought).
So, I started turning off my TV and stop scrolling an hour before I go to bed. I’m not perfect and don’t always follow this, but when I do, it definitely helps being able to refocus and start calming my mind down. However, I know that some people actually enjoy watching TV right before bed and find it to be incredibly relaxing. Whatever works for you! But, if you start noticing constant struggle to fall asleep, I would recommend at least giving this a try!
Take Melatonin
About an hour before I go to bed, I usually take 3-6g of melatonin. This is just a natural remedy to help you naturally fall asleep. I personally love melatonin because it helps me fall asleep, but it doesn’t make me feel all groggy the next morning. When I take a sleep aid, I can sometimes feel all groggy and half asleep if I didn’t get enough sleep for the sleep aid to wear off. Right now, I am enjoying the Nature Made Melatonin.
Try an essential oil diffuser
I absolutely love my essential oil diffuser! An hour before bed, I also like to turn on my essential oil diffuser. There’s something so relaxing about diffusing lavender/eucalyptus/ tea tree oil to calm your mind. I have mine sitting right next to my bed on my night stand. I love climbing into bed with relaxing aroma already there, mmmm allll the calming feels right there!
The oil that I like to use is Pure Aroma because it comes in a package that contains allll of the oils that I like to use on a daily basis. I usually always have one package in my amazon cart because I know that I’m going to need a refill!
If you don’t have an essential oil diffuser yet, I would recommend getting one that comes with some oils to get you started, like this one. That way you can test out which oils you really like so you know which ones you would like to get a refill on.
Prep the coffee maker & breakfast items
Something that doesn’t take a lot of time, but helps with the flow of the morning, is making sure that everything is prepped for breakfast. The more I am able to prep, the more fluid my morning is!
- Putting coffee & water in the coffee maker
- Cracking eggs into Tupperware
- Measuring oats
Wash your face, put on a face mask
Something that I find that I tend to talk myself out of is making sure I wash my face & brush my teeth before bed. But, I have started making sure I make this a priority & a part of my self care routine.
I try to do a face scrub & face mask a couple times a week. I love the options that I get in my FabFitFun boxes! They always send such high quality products and it’s so fun to try them all!
Set out clothes & gym bag for the morning
To make sure that the morning starts of smoothly, I set out everything that I need to get ready for the gym. Since I get up before my boyfriend, I lay out everything that I need in the bathroom!
A lot of people wonder how I workout so early in the morning. One of my main tips is actually getting ready for the gym. It sounded like a crazy idea to me at first, but I actually recommend getting ready for the gym. Doing this actually wakes up my body, rather than getting to the gym feeling like a zombie.
Here’s what I set out the night before to get ready for the gym:
- Water- I start drinking right when I get up!
- Workout clothes
- Personal hygiene items
- Hair ties
Reflection journaling
After I get everything prepared for the next day, I climb into bed for the remainder of my night routine.
A part of my morning routine is journaling & expressing gratitude. Before I go to sleep, I take the time to reflect on my day. This has become a really important part of my routine because it really helps put things in perspective. Sometimes, we can focus on all the bad things that happen throughout the day.
As a Mindset Coach, I truly believe in the power of perception. When we start looking for the silver lining in situations, it really helps with putting things in perspective.
That’s why I love the reflections in The Five Minute Journal.
In the morning, you talk about what you are grateful for, write down intentions for the day & write a positive affirmation.
Then, at the end of the day, you write what went well + what you could have done to make the day better. You don’t realize the power of this kind of reflection & intention setting, but this helps in shifting your mindset. I love this journal because it is very short and straight to the point. These daily exercises help you with being able to set actionable goals for yourself.
Read
Reading is one of those activities that I really love, but I sometimes have a hard time getting myself to settle down with a good book. Instead of turning on TV to help me fall asleep, I started picking up a book and reading while in bed. Reading has been the perfect way for me to really calm my mind down and lets me naturally get sleepy. Reading is much better at preparing you for sleep than scrolling on your phone! It’s definitely a habit that I have seen a huge difference with.
Some books that I’m loving right now:
Guided Meditation
I personally have a love/hate relationship with meditation because I’m still really bad at it. I’ve been trying to make this a daily habit for a couple years now and it’s one of those things that takes some (lots) time to master. But, when I do practice meditation, I notice how much more relaxed and calm my mind is. Even if it’s just listening to calming music, rather than a guided meditation. Just a couple of minutes can work wonders!
I do recommend getting some guided meditation apps on your phone to try out nightly. Most of them have free options so you don’t have to commit to monthly payments if you don’t think that you’ll need that kind of investment. Some guided meditation apps that I like are Sanvello, Calm & Simple Habit.
That’s my night routine! I usually like to give myself an hour to an hour and a half before I want to go to sleep. The more that I allow myself to unwind, the better quality sleep I am able to get. This routine has helped me in so many ways & I hope you found this to be helpful!
I do offer 1:1 Mindset & Confidence Coaching and invite you to check out my opportunities if that is something that you would be interested in. Click here for more information on my 1:1 coaching opportunities! <3
Related: How to know if it’s time to hire a life coach
>> click here to download my 5 tips for crushing your goals
>> click here to download my self care planning worksheet
>> click here to download my 50 journal prompts for self reflection & self discovery
Xx,
Jess
