There’s a specific kind of tired that only a full day on campus can create. When your days consist of rushing to classes, the accidental breaks between them that throw off your entire life, talking to more people than your social battery agreed to and that constant feeling like you’ve missed something important. By the time I get back to my room in the evening, I could swear I’ve lived three lives, and each one on autopilot. That’s why having a nighttime routine that actually helps me unwind has become one of the kindest things I do for myself. It helps me slow down after a day that was filled with constant rush, makes my space feel a little softer and gives my brain a place to detach from the stress and chaos it collected. As much as I wish a simple routine could take away the anxiety and exhaustion, it helps me reset, breathe, and feel slightly less like an energizer bunny. And honestly, I will never turn down that tiny bit of peace at the end of the day. So, to keep myself from fully malfunctioning by 8 PM, I’ve learned to rely on a few small habits that help me unwind.
The first thing I need to do to unwind at night is to slow my pace after a full day of being “on.” Unwinding, for me, means switching out of that as fast as possible. Taking a few minutes to move gently for myself helps my brain catch up after campus somehow manages to overstimulate every sense I have. Once I feel less worked up, I focus on making my space feel safe again. Whether you’re in residence, your own apartment, or living at home, it’s important that you make the space yours again. Fixing my bed, dimming my lights, putting on my cozy pajamas and closing my laptop for the night are all small cues that tell my brain it’s okay to relax.
From there on out, I put my physical comfort first because, honestly, after a long day of sitting in uncomfortable lecture hall seats, I deserve it. Soft clothes, a long, warm shower and slowly doing my skincare routine can flip my whole mood. Then comes mental rest, which is easily my priority. I try to give my academic brain somewhere to unload so I don’t think about school while I’m trying to fall asleep. Writing down a to-do list for tomorrow or doing a much-needed brain dump keeps me from stressing about deadlines, or worse, remembering them right as I’m falling asleep. Finally, my favourite way to end my nighttime routine is with one emotionally soft moment. This should be something simple to remind you that you exist outside of school. I really enjoy reading a couple pages of my book, light stretching, journaling, or even sometimes just doomscrolling on TikTok (we all have our coping methods) (with a facemask of course). I try to take complete advantage of this me time because it’s the only part of the day that belongs completely to me, and it brings me back to myself in a way that feels comfortable.
Even though something as small as a nighttime routine won’t make the chaos and stress that comes with being a student totally disappear, it has definitely made my evenings feel a lot more manageable. It’s a small window where the pace slows down, the noise settles, and you finally get to breathe after a day that asked way too much from you. At the end of the day, these small habits don’t turn anyone into a perfectly put-together person overnight, but they have helped me reset throughout the week, which has been the biggest game changer as a student, but also for my mental health. And honestly, if twenty quiet minutes at night can bring me back to myself, even the tiniest bit, then it’s something I will be holding onto for dear life.