Picture this: You’re lying in your bed scrolling through your phone when you realize the time: 3 a.m. Your eyes roll at the realization that you have an 8 a.m. class in T-minus 5 hours. “Welp, I’m not sleeping,” you mumble to yourself. Once again, you fall back into the routine of puffy eyes and coffee stains. Replace this routine with a better one: a nightly routine. Not only will it drastically increase your productivity and sleep, but they’re fun; after all, who doesn’t love a little mini pamper session? Here are some tips to get you on your way to relaxing nights.
Set a Time
You might have heard the saying, “your morning begins with the night before.” While it may seem contradictory at first, it is so true! Chances are your alarm goes off the same time every morning, regardless of the amount of sleep you got before. If you want to stop hitting the snooze, you’re going to have to make sure you get enough sleep. What I’m talking about is setting a bedtime. I know, the thought of it probably brings you back to middle school when your mom would open your door and you’d have to pretend to be asleep because it was past your bedtime, but this time you get to pick when you go to sleep. The recommended amount of sleep is 7-9 hours per night, so set your time accordingly. If you need to, it can be helpful to set an alarm on your phone for when you want to start getting ready for bed.
Remove Screens
As a person who once loved to binge-watch Netflix until I fell asleep, it hurts me to say this: you need to remove all screens at least an hour before you go to bed. The blue light from screens seriously disrupts your sleep. While setting a bedtime and planning to get sleep is great, none of that does any good if you can’t fall asleep because your eyes are still adjusting from your phone screen. Instead of scrolling through Instagram, read a book, hang out with your roommates or get creative and paint. If you really can’t live without your phone but still want decent sleep, you can invest in a pair of blue light blocking glasses. They protect your eyes from your phone’s harsh light. If you can’t find a pair that’s budget-friendly, at least make sure to switch night shift on your phone and turn the brightness all the way down.
Prepare for Tomorrow
There’s nothing worse than frantically rushing out the door in the morning, only to realize you forgot the essay you spent all night working on. Make your mornings go a lot smoother by preparing for it the night before. Pack your bags, straighten your room and lay out an outfit. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself in the morning.
Self Care
After a long day, there’s nothing better than some much-needed self-care. For me, this involves lighting a fall-scented candle, playing some relaxing Indie music and applying my favorite black charcoal face mask. You can choose to go full out with a hair-masks, nails and some eye cucumbers or you can scale it down and just wash your face; the important part is taking the time to appreciate yourself.
Wind Down
When it’s approaching that time of the night where you should start thinking about going to sleep, get in the right mindset by winding down with some light yoga or mediation. A great meditation app is Headspace. If you’re not into yoga, even something as simple as spraying some lavender mist on your pillow will tell your body that it’s time for bed.
Now that you’ve gone through your whole night routine, it’s time for the best part: sleep!