The Optimal Night Routine for Quality Rest

We all have the sense that what we do in the hours before bedtime can affect our sleep. However, with the plethora of information available on the internet, planning the optimal evening routine can be quite a challenge. For those looking for help by using supplements or tech solutions, the global market for sleep aids has burgeoned to more than USD$500 billion. With all these choices, how do we decide what’s best? 

Good news: finding an ideal evening routine for sleep need not be a daunting process if you follow one simple principle. To get to this principle, we have to understand just a little bit about the science of sleep (bear with me!). 

Sleepiness is a biological drive like hunger or thirst. We don’t need to do anything to feel hungry or thirsty – our bodies naturally tell us when we are low on energy reserves and need to eat. Similarly, we fall asleep because of processes in the body that signal two things: 1) that enough time has passed since we last slept, and 2) that the time for sleep (usually nighttime) has arrived. 

These two processes work in tandem to keep us alert during the day and asleep at night. Without them, our sleep would be fragmented and chaotic; our bodies would not have the biological cues to know when to sleep and wake. 

This brings us to an important insight: rather than trying to promote sleep, a far better strategy is to simply allow it to happen. The key principle for structuring a nighttime routine is to choose activities that do not get in the way or help our body’s natural desire to fall asleep.  

In other words, a nighttime routine should serve to remove the obstacles that impede sleep rather than introduce things to put us to sleep (which our body and mind want us to do anyway). 

The most common obstacle to falling asleep quickly is not hard to identify: it’s stress. Stress activates the fight-or-flight system, which prepares us for dealing with imminent threats. In our evolutionary past, these were often physical threats, and the last thing you want to do if a wild animal is about to attack you is fall asleep! 

To get into sound sleep, the fight-or-flight system needs to be off, and our rest-and-digest system, which promotes relaxation, needs to be on.  

The first step towards developing a bedtime routine therefore is identifying your major sources of stress. Do they concern work? Family? Financial worries? Importantly, do you feel that you have a handle on your stressors, or do they seem to be constantly beyond your control? (If they do, that might be a sign you need to see a counselor or psychologist to talk about them). 

If you have a reasonable handle on your stress, the recipe for creating a nighttime routine is simple: choose the activities and practices that are most effective in distancing yourself from daytime stressors and engage in these during the buffer zone between work and sleep. 

We believe that this is powerful advice because it is not one-size-fits-all. 

For example, studies have shown that on average, exercise before bed does not significantly affect sleep quality. However, we have heard a range of stories from clients; some feel that physical exercise in the nighttime is disruptive, and others insist that a late workout is just the thing that puts them to sleep! 

Sleep experts will generally advise sleeping in a completely quiet environment. However, some people find complete silence unnerving and feel that a background hum of sound puts them at ease. Scientific studies of the effects of white noise on sleep show inconsistent results. What do we conclude? Again, the answer is in our principle: do what makes you feel relaxed rather than blindly follow blanket prescriptions.  

 Should supplements be part of your evening routine? Some people swear that a cup of chamomile tea or a dose of magnesium before bed is a must for a good night's rest.  

Unfortunately, we don’t have strong scientific evidence for the effectiveness of (most) sleep supplements, largely because there is limited funding to conduct large, well-controlled studies on them. Supplements might have a sleep-promoting effect, but we generally don’t have the data to show it. On the flip side, most sleep supplements are sold over the counter and are safe to consume, so there is little risk in taking them. 

Remember what we said about piling on things to put yourself to sleep though? If sleep supplements are used incorrectly, they can ironically lead to some people experiencing greater sleep challenges. Feeling that you “need” supplements to sleep well can lead to psychological dependence and feelings of anxiety when sleep aids are not available. And as you should know by now, anything stress-inducing has no place as part of a nighttime routine! 

Instead of relying on supplements or rituals before bed, the ideal routine is one where you implicitly trust that you will sleep. From this vantage point, winding down for the day becomes enjoyable rather than something that needs to be planned. In short, to sleep well, let go of the need to engineer optimal sleep, and do the things that make you at peace.