How often do you find yourself stressed out, exhausted, or overwhelmed at the end of the day? Creating a mindful evening routine is a simple way to calm down, relax, and shift your focus away from your workday. By creating a mindful evening routine, you’ll improve your quality of sleep, boost your overall wellbeing, and wake up feeling refreshed and ready for another day!
What is a mindful evening routine?
A bedtime routine is a set of actions performed at the same time each evening. These may include a warm bath, reading a book, writing in a journal, meditating, or listening to music. By incorporating mindfulness activities like these into your daily life, you can create a more relaxed evening and a restful night’s sleep.
Why are bedtime routines important?
The way you spend your evenings has a huge impact on your life. A mindful evening routine is often overlooked due to busy schedules and chaotic lifestyles. It’s important for your long-term physical health and mental wellbeing to carve out some time each night to relax, unwind, and de-stress.
A consistent bedtime routine gives us a chance to reflect on our experiences throughout the day and plan for tomorrow. A mindful evening routine helps you clear your head and cultivate a calm mind. This is especially important if you often feel anxious about tomorrow’s workload or have too much on your mind.
Mindfulness rituals also have profound effects on other aspects of our lives. They improve our ability to focus, concentrate, remember things, pay attention, and make better decisions. They help us manage stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. They give us tools to cope with difficult situations and emotions. They help us stay grounded when we feel overwhelmed by life. They help us find joy and peace in the little moments.
Creating a mindful evening routine is one of the easiest ways to start implementing a healthier lifestyle. If you’re looking to improve your health and wellness, try adding some mindfulness activities to your nightly routine.
Why mindfulness?
Mindfulness is an ancient practice that teaches us to focus on what we are doing right now. We can also apply this concept to our daily routines. When we are mindful, we are aware of all aspects of our life, including our thoughts, feelings, actions, words, and surroundings. Mindfulness helps us to become more present and enjoy life.
How long should my nighttime routine last?
Your bedtime routine should be flexible enough to fit around your personal needs. The best way to find out what works best for you is by experimenting. Start with a short mindfulness routine of around 15 minutes and gradually build it up from there.
How to create a mindful night routine
A mindful evening routine is often neglected due to busy schedules and hectic lifestyles. But there are several simple steps you can incorporate into your daily routine to create a relaxing and rejuvenating evening ritual. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things you need to do at the end of your day, try out just one of the following tips. Incorporate one or more of the following tips into your evening routine to improve your mindfulness and create a peaceful and calming environment before going to bed.
1. Create a cozy and peaceful Space
Creating a clean, clutter-free and cozy space will be helpful to unwind and relax after a stressful day. Even though it will require some work and effort, a cozy place will allow you to enjoy some peace and quiet and put your mind at ease. Before settling down for the night, make sure your space is clean and organized.
Creating a calming atmosphere around your bedroom can be helpful when trying to fall asleep. Keep clutter out of sight and use only items that make you feel comfortable and relaxed. Create a cozy space where you can retreat to whenever you want to wind down.
2. Lower the lights
Light plays an important role in our circadian rhythms. During the day, we need bright light to help us wake up and stay awake. At night, we need less light to get ready for sleep. Dimming the lights at night helps us fall asleep easier and encourages mindfulness, relaxation, and restorative sleep. Consider switching off lights and using candles instead to create a super soothing ambiance that calms the mind.
3. Aromatherapy
Scent is a powerful tool that can help you relax and unwind and diffusing essential oils is a calming ritual that has been used for thousands of years. You can diffuse these scents in your bedroom or living room. Diffusers are great if you want to diffuse essential oils into the air without burning them with incense. Sleep sprays are another option. They contain natural ingredients that promote relaxation and calmness. Choose a fragrance that evokes feelings of comfort, safety, love, and tranquility. Lavender oil is one of the best known fragrances to promote relaxation and reduce anxiety.
4. Exercise
Exercise helps us to relax and de-stress after a long day. Even if you don’t feel like doing anything, getting your body active for a few minutes will benefit you. Yoga, Pilates, running, swimming, walking, cycling, dancing–whatever activity appeals to you, just do it! If you prefer to stretch, try a few stretches before going to bed. A simple breathing exercise can also help you relax and prepare yourself for a good night’s rest.
Exercise releases endorphins (hormones) that make you happy and give you energy. It’s recommended that you exercise 30 minutes before going to bed. However, if you tend to feel anxious while exercising, you may want to do it later in the day.
The benefits of exercise extend beyond physical health. Regular exercise can improve mood and mental clarity. It can also boost self-esteem and confidence. About 20-30 minutes of light exercise every day will help your body get rid of toxins and keep your mind sharp. If you have more time, try doing an hour of exercise every day.
5. Turn off electronics
Screen time before bed can disrupt our sleep and disturb our minds. Blue light emitted from our devices disrupts our circadian rhythm. Electronics emit electromagnetic frequencies that may also disrupt your sleep patterns. If you’re using electronics such as computers, TVs, tablets, smartphones, etc., turn them off at least two hours before bed. This will allow your brain to rest and recharge in a more calming and soothing environment.
6. Read a book
Reading is a great way to relax and unwind before bed. Reading a good book before bed will help you drift off to sleep faster and better than if you were watching TV or playing video game. If you have trouble falling asleep, try reading something that makes you feel good. If you are short on time, consider reading a few inspiring quotes or a poem.
7. Spend time outside
Nature sounds such as birds singing, rain falling, waves crashing, and wind blowing can help you relax. These sounds can also help you fall back to sleep more quickly. If you live near a park or forest, go outside and listen to the sounds of nature.
8. Practice gratitude
It’s easy to feel like life is too busy to practice gratitude, but it doesn’t take long before you realize just how important it is to cultivate this attitude. The first step toward practicing gratitude is acknowledging what you already have in your life. Take a few minutes to mentally or physically list the big and small things you feel thankful for. Alternatively, you can reflect on your day and find three events that you feel grateful for experiencing.
9. Journaling
Journaling is a great way to sit quietly and reflect on what happened during the day. What did you accomplish? How was your week? Did anything stand out as particularly challenging or rewarding? Journaling allows you to process your emotions and thoughts without judgment. It’s a great way to clear your head and gain perspective.
10. Meditation
Meditation is an ancient practice that helps us to focus on the present moment and clear away negative emotions. It helps us to let go of any negativity or stress we have accumulated during the day. A meditation practice can help you calm your nervous system and prepare you for a restful night’s sleep. Bedtime meditation techniques include deep breathing exercises, guided imagery, mantra repetition, progressive relaxation, and mindfulness meditation. There are many different forms of meditation, but they all aim to achieve the same goal: to focus on one thing while letting go of everything else.
11. Brew tea
Making a cup of herbal tea helps relax before bed and get ready for a great night’s sleep. Lavender, chamomile, valerian root and passion flower are all calming ingredients that can help you relax and get ready for sleep. An evening tea ritual can also be an opportunity to reflect on your day and plan for tomorrow.
12. Take a warm bath
Taking a warm bath is one of the most effective relaxation techniques and it has been used for centuries to relieve muscle pain and relax muscles. A warm bath is one of the best ways to decompress after a long day at work, especially if you add bath salts or calming essential oils to the bath water. The water provides a sense of comfort and calmness and it helps reduce stress levels and improves mood. If you don’t have access to a bathtub, try taking a hot shower instead. The heat from the water will feel just as relaxing.
13. Listen to music
Music can encourage relaxation and improve restful sleep. It also reduces anxiety, boosts mood, and even improves memory recall. It doesn’t matter what kind of music you listen to, so long as it calms you down. Close your eyes, put on headphones, and listen to whatever type of music you enjoy. Let it distract you from your thoughts and calm you down. If you’re wanting to use music to help you fall asleep, try listening to white noise, like rain or ocean waves. White noise masks other noises and can help you fall asleep faster. If you’re looking for something relaxing, try listening to soft instrumental music, like piano, guitar, violin, flute, or harp.
14. Practice yoga
Yoga is a great way to mindfully stretch, breathe and relax.Yoga is a great form of exercise, and it has been proven to improve flexibility, range of motion, muscle tone, and overall health. It can also help you stay calm throughout difficult situations. Just a few minutes of mindful movement and deep breathing is a great way to wind down from a stressful day and can reduce worries and anxiety. There are specific yoga poses and breathing exercises that can help you relax before bed and prepare for a good night’s rest.