We’ve all had them, the coffee shower morning! The mornings when you’re so out of it, you inevitably spill your coffee all down you, trip over, aren’t really watching where you’re going or worse, absent-mindedly walk the wrong way, it’s not an omen of how the day will go! Likely it’s not, but it probably does mean that you didn’t have the perfect nights sleep.
Sleep is so important, not only for our energy and productivity, but it’s our best-kept beauty secret and imperative for good health. We really can’t afford to miss out on it.
It can seem almost impossible to get a good nights sleep, with work stresses and commitments eating away at those precious hours but I might have a solution… an easy-to-implement evening routine that will send you off into the perfect night’s sleep!
6 hours before bed
The perfect night’s sleep starts long before bedtime. Six hours to be exact!
Hopefully, you’re aiming to get to bed at the same time most nights and know exactly when you’ll be slipping between the sheets. Six hours before that time, quit the caffeine! I don’t need to explain why there’s a reason we’re reaching for a long Americano first thing in the morning! It invigorates your adrenaline and boosts your energy, so you can stop it before the end of your work day. Not what you want right before bed.
5 hours before bed
Wrap up your tasks for the day. Try to tackle high-stress priorities early on in the day, don’t leave the hardest tasks for the end of the day as they are more likely to come home with you.
If you plan your day in advance you should know how best to theme your time so that you’re not rushing to finish tasks, or taking too much work home with you. It’s important to have a clear mind for the evening.
4 hours before bed
Prepare for the following day. Lay out everything you need for the next day. Doing this will cut down the time you’ll spend hurriedly trying to find something to wear in the morning. Don’t forget to meal prep also and save yourself from grabbing something quick and usually unhealthy at lunchtime!
Finally, make sure your living space is clean with everything tidied away. There’s nothing more demotivating than waking up in a mess and you don’t deserve the extra stress.
Begin winding down if you’re lucky enough to be home by now, as it’s important to get in the right frame of mind.
3 hours before bed
In this hour you should be finishing up dinner. If your body is digesting while you’re trying to sleep, it will only keep you awake. If you have had an alcoholic drink, make sure to keep hydrated in the last few hours before bed!
Once you have finished up, do your dishes or stack the dishwasher, you’ll thank yourself tomorrow!
2 hours before bed
Treat bedtime as the perfect excuse to pamper yourself.
Sleep should never be the last thing on your mind. Something you rush to get through as the clock ticks into the early hours! With so little time in the day, the evening is the perfect time to really treat yourself and we all deserve this after a long, hard day hustling.
Run yourself a bath, light your favorite candles and sip a soothing drink! Do a face or hair treatment and take time over your skincare, the more you do the night before, the least you’ll have to do in the morning!
1 hour before bed
Now it’s really time to wind down. Make sure you’ve put away all of your devices, you really don’t need that blue light as you’re dozing off!
Do some pre-bed meditation to ease you into an easy sleep or read a self-improvement book to encourage an empowered rest!
Make sure you’re falling asleep in the perfect zen, invest in some bedtime essentials: extra plush cushions, sheets with a high thread count, a relaxing pillow spray and turn down the heater. Your body needs to maintain the perfect temperature as you sleep!
With any luck you’ll wake up so refreshed, you won’t even need to hit the snooze button!
How do you send yourself off to sleep? Let us know your suggestions in the comments below…
GOOD THINGS
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