I am the biggest fan of schedule, routines, and rituals. I hate to break it to you, but without them most people do not do well. The easiest way set yourself up for a successful and productive day is a good night sleep. Today, I will breakdown five simple steps to take prior to getting in bed to ensure you have the best night sleep.

Step One – Get Clean

Anyone who knows me well, I have a strict no dirty sh*t near my bed rule. No outside clothes, shoes, or bags go on my bed, and never ever under the covers. While you might not passionately share my feelings on this, separating your bed from your “outside” life sets an important boundary. The simplest way to avoid contaminating your bed is by having a quick shower before bed, followed by skincare, and obviously brushing your teeth. My entire nighttime shower and skincare situation is supported by products found at Gee Beauty and Ssense, which I will list and link at the end of the article.

Step Two – Get Ready for Tomorrow

This nighttime ritual is seriously underrated. Laying out your outfit for the next morning, packing a bag, or organizing your desk prepares you mentally and literally for the day ahead. As I start getting ready for tomorrow, I automatically feel my stress reduced as I actively set myself up for the day I want. Perhaps, my type A personality needs a morning plan, but I do know almost everyone loves to avoid any sort of tedious decision making or organizing when we first wakeup.

Step Three – Set the Stage

Turn down service, bedside table essentials, ambiance. Here is hoping your bed was made, but either way making it again for bedtime is important for a good night sleep. Think like a luxury hotel for this one. Now, what goes on your nightstand says a lot about you. I prefer no clutter, only the essentials. In an ideal world we all have a Maison Balzac Carafe and Glass (if not a cup of water will have to do), phone charger, candle to set the mood, a book, and plant or crystal for some good energy. Beyond this, the ambiance. This covers lighting and scent. I find a dimmed overhead light, and candle balance most spaces. Scent is extremely personal, and for your bedroom I would recommend finding what undertones you find relaxing. Although there is not a ‘one smell fits all’ equation, I would recommend something light and somewhat neutral. My personal go to is anything from the woody family including cedar, sandalwood, or pine. For example, vanilla gives me a headache and anything fruity makes me stressed. Learn what works best for you.

Step Four – Unwind

Find an activity that is around 30 minutes to distract you from everything else going on in the world. This can be a TV show, book, game, colouring, journaling – whatever works for you. You should look forward to this time to be with yourself and just relax in bed with no other obligations.

Step Five – Perfect the timing

This is the most important element of your nighttime routine to master. Recognizing the optimal amount of time, it takes to start the process until you turn off those lights ensures you don’t feel rushed or pressured. I personally take around 45 minutes hour to unwind. 15 minutes to get ready to go into bed, then take an activity in bed for another 30 minutes always aiming for lights out by 11:30pm and up by 7:30am. Knowing this information by 10:45pm I better be getting organized to sleep, and if I am in bed earlier, I take more time to unwind or catch up on missed episodes of a show!

Step Six – Lights OUT

These steps I live by. Implement them into your nighttime routine and see your sleep become optimized! Night!!

Curated with love,

Taylor Hannah Curation