After a long day of making decisions, our evenings are the time to chill.
Often, though, we end up wasting time trying to decide what to do and when to do it, and then worry what are we forgetting. We spin our wheels and scroll on our phones or watch Netflix more than we should. Before we know it, we’ve shot past our bedtime and go to bed disgruntled because we know we aren’t going to get a full night’s rest.
Setting up a healthy evening routine proactively gets us out of this cycle. Evening routines prepare us to have a restful night sleep and be refreshed in the morning. What we do in the evening influences our sleep and our effectiveness the next day. Having a healthy evening routine helps refresh us for a good night’s sleep and energizes us for a good morning.
A healthy evening routine helps us by:
Helping us feel more relaxed – By setting up healthy routines for our evening we can relax. By deciding ahead of time what to do and when, no more decisions need to be made. What we do is efficient and helpful for winding down and preparing for the next day.
Getting ready for the next day – An intentional evening routine helps us to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for a healthy, productive, and focused tomorrow.
Promoting physical activity – This is true even if you don’t exercise or go on a walk at night. when you go to bed at the right time, you’re much more likely to wake up early enough to be active in the morning.
Helping us sleep better – Good sleep radically impacts our mood and mindset. It lowers stress and improves our mental health. Good sleep also helps our bodies refresh and get rid of toxins.
Suggestions for your evening routine
A good evening routine lasts anywhere from 30-90 minutes. Ultimately, you want your routine to be customized so that it will benefit you and your family as much as possible.
To create or optimize yours, it helps to write out exactly what you plan to do. We encourage people start by deciding when they want to be in bed. Then, you can reverse engineer your evenings to help you relax, unwind, and set yourself up for success the next day.
Here are some ideas of what works for others that you may want to include in your own evening routine:
Do what helps you to relax and unwind. It can be nice to go for an easy walk, have enjoyable conversations, or read.
An hour before your bedtime turn off the TV and electronics. Lower the lights and the temperature. Listen to music if it is relaxing for you, or read a good book and journal. All these activities help us sleep better.
Do some light stretching or meditation.
If you have children, engage with them in a non-stimulating activity. “Rough housing” right before their bedtime will not help you have a relaxed night.
When you tuck your children in for the night spend a few minutes letting them talk and relax. With older children, sitting on the edge of their bed and listening to them talk about their day will help them, and in turn help you.
Plan for your next day’s activities, meetings, actions. Choose what you will wear and eat for the next day. Think through your next day or reflect on how today went.
Write down or discuss with your partner what you are grateful or thankful for. It will aid in a good night’s sleep. Mention 3 things you are grateful for each evening. Going to bed with a positive attitude helps with sleep, which improves how we feel the next day.
Prepare for the next day. Decide what your three most important tasks are that you need to get done tomorrow. Prepare what you will wear and pack your lunch or breakfast.
Those are just a few ideas. But the more purposeful we are in crafting our evening routines, the more we are setting ourselves up to truly relax and have a successful tomorrow.
If you don’t have a routine for your evenings, or at least not a healthy one, it’s okay.
You can start creating a better one today. The benefits you’ll feel will be more than worth it.
Written by: Cindy Picht, LPC, CEO
