6 Ways to Create an Actionable Sleep Routine
The health and wellness space has become inundated with the latest trend of sleep hygiene, sleep ritual, and sleep optimisation. It’s certainly not the first time that we’ve become obsessed with a wellness trend. However, there is a huge shift in the way that people are approaching sleep when it comes to recovery, mental health, and physical health.
So while it may seem like a trend, there’s more to it in terms of what we’re learning about how the body can benefit from improving our sleep and creating a more consistent sleep routine.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, almost half of Australian adults (48%) report at least two sleep-related issues, and 42% of teenagers ages 5 to 17 experience sleep pattern issues. There’s no doubt that a lot of this can be attributed to the increased use of technology in our day-to-day. Blue light has been shown to make it harder for our bodies to shut down and sleep for continued periods.
However, while technology is inevitable, there are a bunch of things that you can do that are proven to create a better nighttime ritual and can make a big difference in your health.
According to the same studies by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 9% of Australians are sleeping less than 6 hours per night, while 10% sleep more than 9 hours. The average sleep is 7 hours and 36 minutes. As we age, we need slightly less sleep, but it has been determined by many studies that more hours each night can help in a variety of ways.
Getting too little or too much sleep can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and coronary heart disease, and the long-term effects of sleep deprivation are associated with reduced life expectancy. On a day-to-day basis, insufficient sleep can impact your concentration, emotional regulation, and decision-making, increasing the risk of anxiety and depression.
So, enough chat about the impact of sleep and what it means to not be getting enough. What can we actually do to improve our sleep, and what are the nighttime rituals that are actionable and impactful? Let’s get into it.
Creating an actionable sleep routine
Creating a sleep routine is more about small habits rather than big changes. We’re not asking you to go out and buy a special mattress or to start an elaborate routine from 6pm, but there are a bunch of things that you can do at night that can be actioned into an existing routine and make the process of falling asleep easier.
Best practice is to start small rather than changing your whole evening at once and starting a whole new regime. It’s best to choose one or two of the habits that you can repeat and then potentially add on top of that if you feel like you want to continue improving your sleep routine.
The goal is not necessarily to force sleep or create a system that makes you stressed about falling asleep. The goal is to build a routine that helps both the body and mind feel calm, comfortable, and prepared for rest. A good nighttime routine should feel easy and realistic enough to maintain.
Small nighttime rituals that can make a big difference
1. Choose a time to start winding down
We all know that spending time on our phone right before sleep is a problem. Rather than trying to reduce phone time altogether, you’re better off creating a wind down window before you hit the pillow.
This could be a 30 to 60 minute stretch where you reduce or dim the lights, use lamps, reduce screen time, make a warm tea or hot drink, stretch gently, or do some light reading. If you’re really into meditation, you could play a sleep meditation app or some gentle music. This shouldn’t be your bedtime cut-off. It should be the wind down window to help your body relax before you go to sleep.
2. Swap caffeine for a calming tea
If you enjoy having a hot drink at night, we recommend having a caffeine-free herbal tea to create a simple and comforting part of your new sleep routine. A blend like Organic Merchant Restful Tea can work beautifully as an evening ritual. Sleepy or herbal tea gives you something warm to hold, sip, and slow down with before bed.
3. Create a sleepy scent
The room that you’re spending time in before bed and the bedroom play a big role in how calm both the mind and body feel. You can create a calming environment by lighting a softly scented candle, using a room spray, or a diffuser to make the space feel more peaceful.
It sounds a little bit silly, but lighting a candle while you read, shower, or relax in your wind down time can create an intentional ritual that signals to your body what time it is.
4. Body and skincare
Whether you’re doing a 12-step skincare routine or you’re just applying a topical balm or ointment at the end of your routine before you get into bed or post-shower, this can be part of your sleep time routine, particularly if you’re taking the time to slowly and intentionally rub any balms and ointments into the skin. It’s a really calming physical practice, particularly after a nice warm shower.
5. Keep your screens out of the bedroom
Watching Instagram or TikTok videos before going to sleep can physically make it hard for your brain to switch off. The bright lights and attention-grabbing videos are purposely hard to ignore, but if you can charge your phone away from your bed, switch your screen to warm lighting, or set a screen cutoff time, this will make the rest of your bedtime routine much more impactful.
Even 20 minutes without your phone before you sleep can make all the difference in your sleep routine.
6. Make your routine repeatable
This is less of a step and more of a reiteration of how simple this routine needs to be. Often when we do a deep dive on how to improve our sleep, our skin, our health, or whatever it might be, we go all in to new products or create a system that we’ve seen on TikTok that is simply never going to stick.
The best nighttime routine is something that you can start tonight and stick to over the next week with some gentle reminders. A really simple routine can look like:
- Dimming the lights
- Making your cup of herbal tea
- Lighting a candle or using a room spray
- Put your phone away
- Apply a body cream or balm
- Spend 10 minutes reading, stretching, or journalling
By the time that your head hits the pillow, you’ve taken the time to practice some light meditation, even if you haven’t realised it, and it’s the perfect chance for your brain to switch off and let go of the day’s thoughts.
It doesn’t need to be perfect, but consistency is the biggest thing. Nights one and two might feel a little bit forced, but as you move into the routine, you’ll find that even if you don’t fall asleep straight away, it’s a really nice chance for you to build a self-care routine.