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We know it is important to set a routine both morning and night. There are many articles written that talk about the benefits of a routine and how it sets you up for a successful day and winds you down for a peaceful sleep. I am still working on my morning routine– I am guilty of hitting snooze and grabbing my phone first thing in the morning. My nighttime routine, however, is religious. I take the necessary steps to wind down before drifting off to sleep. I have never been one that can instantly fall asleep upon my head hitting the pillow. I envy those of you who can. I need to take certain steps to calm my mind and my body. Here is my 9 step nighttime routine.
1. Drink herbal tea: Most nights (except the nights I drink Kombucha) I drink Celestial Seasonings Herbal Sleeptime Tea. It’s a caffeine-free blend of chamomile, spearmint, and lemongrass. Chamomile alone has a lot of benefits with boosting your immune system, clears your skin, helps with inflammation, and calms nerves. Lemongrass helps you detox and spearmint helps with hormonal balance. I drink it to start the calming process before bed– otherwise, I am tossing and turning, wagging my feet, filled with excess energy until the wee hours of the night.
2. Remove makeup: Before washing my face I use Aveeno Ultra-Calming Cleansing Oil-Free Makeup Remover Wipes. These are the only makeup remover wipes that do not irritate my skin, especially the area around my eyes. Even if I am not wearing makeup, I will do a once over with the wipes to get surface-level dirt off of my face…. I do live in New York which is filled with pollution.
3. Cleanse my face: After using the makeup remover wipes I wash my face with Beautycounter Countercontrol Clear Pore Cleanser. It’s gentle enough that it does not irritate my skin. It contains aloe to smooth pores and jojoba beads to get rid of excess dead skin. Every two weeks, after applying the cleanser, I will exfoliate using Beautycounter Nourishing Cream Exfoliator.
4. Apply serums and moisturizer: After I rid my face of dirt and excess makeup, I will apply serum and moisturizer. I use Primera Wild Seed Firming Serum, which smooths and boosts elasticity while fighting wrinkles and saggy skin. It also helps with uneven skin tone. After I let the serum sit in and allow my skin to absorb it, I then apply my night time moisturizer. During the summer when my skin is oily, I use Beautycounter Nourishing Night Cream. Unfortunately, my skin gets really dry during the winter and I need a thicker moisturizer for the evening. Instead, I use Aveeno Clear Complexion Acne-Fighting Daily Face Moisturizer. After I have applied my serum and face moisturizer, I apply Kiehls Midnight Recovery Eye Cream.
5. Use a Facial Roller: To end my evening face regime, I use a jade facial roller (will switch it up with a rose quartz facial roller) to help my skin absorb what I have applied and also prevent my wrinkles. I then use a Gua Sha Facial Tool to sculpt my jawline. I do both during my mourning routine as well to depuff.
6. Journal: I have always been one who enjoys writing in a daily journal. Whether it’s creative ideas, emotions I am trying to process, my prayers to God, my dreams and career goals, or simply what happened to me that day. I always start the journal entry with “Today was a great day and tomorrow is going to be even better”, even if the day was awful. I try to find a silver lining in each day and starting the sentence with “today was a great day” makes any day seem a little bit better. I usually write in a journal by hand, but sometimes I get too lazy (or I am in a hurry) and type onto an on-going doc on my computer.
7. Spray my bed with a mist: An added step I take to calm my body– because I am one who holds a lot of energy- is a relaxing lavender mist. I spray it on my bed, my pillowcases, and sometimes on my body to ensure a relaxing sleep. It sets the mood for the evening. Lavender is a sedative aroma that helps calm the body.
8. Read: I end my nighttime routine with a book. Usually, this helps me unwind to go to bed. I am overly stimulated throughout the day by staring at my phone or the computer, so winding down with a book helps. However, sometimes I get so into a book I end up staying up later than I plan because I can’t put the book down. Oops! I read two books at night. The first being the book I am currently reading at the moment (right now I am reading this book). Then before I settle into bed, I read my daily meditations book. It’s daily excerpts of lessons and stories to make you ponder. I was trying to make this part of my morning routine, but haven’t seemed to make it work.
9. Meditate: Sometimes I will listen to a guided meditation at night. I listen to Insight Timer where I have some of my favorite meditations bookmarked for easy access. For the evenings I listen to ones about aligning my chakras or ones that are meant to put you in deep relaxation for sleep. I find sometimes meditating before I go to bed helps calm me. I want to add this step to my morning routine as well, to start the day off right.
