Close cross icon.

Bedtime Rituals

Arianna Huffington, founder of Thrive Global and author of The Sleep Revolution, believes the secret to succeeding is to get more sleep. As we’ve written about previously in How to Get a Better Night’s Sleep, bedtime rituals are particularly helpful in training your mind and body to get ready to sleep. Arianna’s bedtime routine consists of “escorting” her devices out of her room, a hot bath with Epsom salts, dressing for sleep, and reading.

To help establish your own bedtime ritual, we’ve got some suggestions below. Developing any new habit takes time and effort. Making your nightly ritual fun and personal to you will help embed them into your life. We suggest picking two or three bedtime rituals that resonate and trying them for at least a week.

Drink a Hot Beverage.

Whether it’s herbal tea, hot water with lemon, or warm milk, having a hot drink can be a nice way to kick off your bedtime ritual. It’s recommended you avoid caffeine.

Meditate.

People talk about how life changing meditating can be. To see if it’s for you, download one of the many apps that offer free trials such as Headspace, Smiling Mind, or Calm. Remember you are learning how to meditate and feeling uncertain is normal.

Read a Book.

You can read a non-fiction book to make yourself drowsy or read a book you enjoy activating dopamine – the reward chemical. Either way, avoid reading on devices as that can interfere with your sleep.

Use Scents to Aid Sleep.

Lavender is commonly associated with sleep however any scent you find calming will work. If you’re someone who forms strong associations between smells and memories you might like to invest in a candle, spritzer, or diffuser as part of your bedtime ritual.

Reboot Your Hygiene Routine.

Rather than rushing through brushing your teeth and washing your face, practice being mindful. You may also like to purchase some fancy facewash and face cream to add a touch of self-care to the routine.

Reflect on the Day.

Thinking through or writing down what went well, what you learnt or who you are grateful for can be a beneficial way to end the day. Practicing gratitude has the benefit of building resilience.

Connect With Family or Friends.

This could be another way to reflect on how your day went and practice gratitude. Additionally, connection with others provides a boost of oxytocin – the love hormone, right before bed.

Write a to-do List Before Going to Bed.

This may be helpful if you are someone who struggles to fall asleep due to worrying about all the things you need to do the next day.

You may find you do one ritual every night and mix it with other rituals depending on your mood or life demands. Regardless of how you do it, figure out what works for you, and do it!

As always, please let us know if there are any particular topics you would love us to look into or you have any queries or feedback.

More Wellness Posts

See all posts

Health Flex – Why Yoga Is It

What do LeBron James, David Beckham and Beyoncé all have in common? They are all top of their game, but they also, along with many of elite sports stars and celebrities, regularly practice yoga. Yoga became a fixture of NBA player fitness, publicly credited by LeBron for helping with his endurance on the court. Many…

Ride2Work Day

We recently published an article about the benefits of cycle commuting. Given the improving weather, isn’t it a great idea to be enjoying the outdoors as much as we can? Well, today is National Ride2Work Day. We’ve already covered how making cycling a part of your day is good for your physical and mental health,…

October is Mental Health Month

It’s October…already! And while this might cause a little flutter of where does the time go, the fact remains that time is not going any faster, we’re just not paying attention to the moments that whoosh past us daily.

Melbourne

Level 35
360 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000

T | 03 9963 4888
vic@clicks.com.au

Sydney

Level 14
55 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000

T | 02 9200 4444
nsw@clicks.com.au

Brisbane

Level 14
127 Creek Street
Brisbane QLD 4000

T | 07 3027 2555
qld@clicks.com.au

Canberra

Level 9
224 Bunda Street
Canberra ACT 2601
PO Box 129
Civic Square, ACT 2608

T | 02 6202 7700
act@clicks.com.au