Adults need 7 hours or more of sleep a night. A study has shown that those who don’t are more likely to lack physical activity, be obese, a smoker, or even an excessive drinker.

Sometimes, destressing before bed can feel impossible. Thoughts from the day are still lingering in your mind and you have no idea how to stop them all. So, how do you learn how to distress before bed? 

Whether it’s work or your personal life, the things that weigh on you throughout the day have to be let go of so you can get a proper night’s sleep. Read on to learn how to destress before bed.

Create a Routine

Ultimately, the best thing you can do to destress before bed is to create a night routine. Setting time aside for yourself to relax and unwind from the day is going to save you from doing it once your head hits the pillow.

But what should that routine include? Here are a few ideas!

Meditate

Meditation works to calm your body and your mind. Deep belly breaths actually help to bring your body out of fight or flight mode — or transition it from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic part of your nervous system is what activates fight or flight. Simply seeing something stressful on social media can cause this part of your body to react, and you immediately tenser. You may begin to sweat, shake, or even cry if things become stressful enough.

The parasympathetic nervous system works to calm these symptoms.

You can find guided meditations online, or you can recite prayers unique to your religious preference. Whatever you do, this grounding practice can help you settle down and transition into your night routine.

Stretch

Whether you work at a desk all day or spend 8 hours on your feet, stretching at night can help you sleep better.

It has similar effects to meditation, but it’s also great for your muscles and entire body. Light yoga or stretches at night shouldn’t have you sweating, nor should it feel like a workout, but it should help your body calm down and destress from the day.

Simply looking up “restorative yoga” or “bedtime yoga” on YouTube or Google is sure to turn several results that you can try for yourself.

Journal

Once you’ve calmed your physical body, it’s time to calm your mind. Journaling at night can help to release any negative thoughts or feelings still racing through your mind from the day.

You can look up journaling prompts, or simply let it all flow out onto the page or in your phone notes, but it’s good to let it out so you don’t have to keep thinking about it.

After you’ve let all the negative out, try thinking about a recent positive experience. Take 15 minutes to reflect upon and write about it, then think about how it made you feel.

A study has shown that this exercise helps to reduce bedtime stress and worry, increase sleep time, and improve overall sleep quality.

Movie or TV

While this should be limited to shows or movies that aren’t too long and won’t stress you out, sometimes watching television of any kind can help get our minds off things and ease any stress or tension — especially if it can make us laugh.

Finding a TV show or movie that you’ve seen before and know that you enjoy can cause less excitement and work to help you stay calm into the night. A sense of familiarity is always good when we’re feeling uncomfortable or stressed.

If you choose to watch television as part of your night routine, it shouldn’t be done right before you go to sleep. It can affect your overall sleep pattern and circadian rhythm, but we’ll talk about that more later.

Shower or Bath

There’s no doubt that a hot shower or bath can help our minds and ease our spirits before bedtime. It can even help aid in sleep, which is important for your nighttime routine.

Instead of going to bed with dirt from your day still lingering, rinse it all off in the shower so your body can relax once it hits the mattress.

If you’re in the market for a new mattress, read more here.

Read

Now, you probably shouldn’t read a murder mystery or psychological thriller before bed, but looking at something that isn’t on your phone or TV screen might actually be better for your sleep cycle.

The blue light emitted from these devices has been shown to disrupt sleep patterns or to disturb other aspects of your health or circadian rhythm.

So, instead of playing on your phone before you fall asleep, try reading a book or doing something else to give your eyes (and brain) a break.

Remember These Tips When Learning How to Destress Before Bed

When you’re learning how to destress before bed, remember these tips and even include some of them in your night routine! Remember, the first step to a great night’s sleep is a solid transition between the day into your evening.

Without that transition, your mind is going to think it’s supposed to moving at all hours of the day when it doesn’t have to. Allow your mind to turn off and rest quietly when you go to sleep at night.

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