6 Activities You Can Do Before Bed to Wind Down

Do you ever find it difficult to relax and fall asleep? This may be caused by your activity prior to bedtime that has increased your heart rate. Therefore, it is important that you do some wind-down activities or habits that can help you get a higher sleep quality.

Look no further, for here are some recommendations on what you can try to do before sleep time to feel more relaxed. Take a read and see if you can implement some of the recommendations into your daily life.

Take A Warm Bath

One of the easiest ways to relax is to take a warm bath. Your muscles may get tired or tense from your daily activities, and one effortless way to solve it is to take a nice warm bath. This is because heat can get your blood moving, helping with circulation and sore or tight muscles.

Not only that, but it can also help lower your body temperature by changing your body’s core temperature. By taking a warm bath, you are removing heat from your body. So, when you step out of the bathroom later, you have a lower body temperature suitable for bedtime.

In addition, body core temperature and sleep are controlled by the circadian rhythm, which is your body’s biological clock. So, it needs to be in the perfect setting for it to recognise bedtime and to make you feel sleepy. Otherwise, you will be up all night and get no sleep, making you sleep-deprived.

Don’t Skip Your Skincare

Skincare is one of the easiest forms of self-care. This is when you are pampering yourself while taking care of your skin to make yourself feel and look better. When you make a routine of taking care of yourself, you can help yourself by improving stress levels and mental health, as well as more time to relax and reduce anxiety.

One of the easiest ways to do skincare is the basic products for night-time: cleanser, toner, moisturiser, and sleeping mask. After cleansing your face with your chosen facial cleanser, simply apply toner and then moisturiser, and then you can jump into bed to sleep.

In addition, when you apply moisturizer, you are helping your skin to regenerate new skin cells. Although your skin can produce moisture on its own, it is important to ramp up the hydration in your skin to avoid excess oil that can lead to breakouts.

Try Listening to ASMR

ASMR is one of the growing genres of videos and background noise. It ranges from roleplaying to ambient sounds with a variety of topics and choices. For instance, you can use your Bose speakers to play forest ambient sounds.

By stimulating brain areas linked to soothing and sleep-inducing hormones like dopamine and oxytocin, ASMR can help you fall asleep more quickly. Along with these stimulatory effects, ASMR also produces a physical feeling that typically begins as a tingling in the scalp and travels to the head and neck. As a result, the listener will feel pleasure, serenity, relaxation, and a profound sense of comfort and well-being in addition to these experiences.

So, the next time you find it hard to sleep, you may try ASMR to help you fall asleep. Just make sure to avoid the mukbang ASMR videos as they might make you hungry and scavenge for food instead of sleeping.

 

 

Try Meditating

Meditating is another good routine before bedtime. It regulates your breathing and helps you focus on the present rather than what might come tomorrow. Plus, this can be the time for you to reflect on your day.

To meditate, all you need is a comfortable space and quietness. Then, silence your phone and start focusing on your breathing. Of course, you can stop there if focusing on breathing is all you need to make yourself relax, but you could also take the time to better your well-being by reflecting on the day you had.

For instance, you can think of the things you were grateful for throughout the day or challenging things and how you successfully managed those. By boosting melatonin and lowering heart rate and blood pressure, meditation helps you fall asleep easily.

Set Up Your Bedroom

To prepare yourself for sleep, you must be in the right setting. This is because your body’s biological clock will prevent you from falling asleep if you are in the wrong settings, such as blue light from your phone or an unsuitable temperature. Hence, having an air conditioner or heater is important to set the right temperature for you to sleep in.

For the best sleeping experience, the temperature needs to be between 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. You will not only fall asleep faster in this temperature, but you will also be able to maintain sleep for a longer period. It is also important to note that a colder room is much better for sleeping in than a warm one.

If you like to sleep in a warm room, you may be restless as you are more likely to remain in the initial stages of sleep instead of more restorative and restful sleep. However, you can change this habit in small ways, such as opening the window, using lighter blankets, and wearing lighter clothes to bed.

Read a Book

Another great before-bed activity we recommend is to read a book. It is an excellent way of winding down without fully meditating or focus on your breathing. Instead, it takes your mind off any stress or excitement you may be feeling during the day and prepares you for bedtime by making you more receptive and passive.

There are many ways you can read a book before bed, either traditionally with a physical copy or by using an e-reader app on your phone or tablet. However, it is important to note that the devices like your phone and tablet emit blue light that may disrupt your circadian rhythm. Make sure to install a blue light filter on your device or use blue light filter glasses to avoid disrupting your sleep time.

 

Here are some before-bed habits that you can implement in your life to make sure you unwind properly for sleep. Make sure that the habit fits into your life and that you enjoy doing it as another form of taking care of yourself. Remember that making a new habit takes time, effort, and consistency, so do not be so hard on yourself if you forget about the before-bed activities. Good luck!