Why Sleep + A Solid PM Routine is Vital For Minimizing Anxiety

For most of my life, I had no nightly rituals or interest in good sleep hygiene. I’m a night owl and I preferred to ‘go with the flow’ (i.e. stay up all night playing on my phone until I fell asleep) yet continued to wonder why I felt like 🗑️ the following day. I was either getting 4-5 hours of sleep or 10+ when I slept in on the weekends - there was no in-between.

Regardless of how much sleep I got the night before, I was ALWAYS tired and never felt relaxed or well rested. When my body didn’t get the chance to properly rest and reset overnight, I’d wake up with just as much if not more anxiety than I had when I got into bed the night prior. Despite these symptoms, I continued to repeat the same process over and over and over again (sound familiar?) until I finally started connecting the dots between sleep and my anxiety levels.

Many people who struggle with an anxiety disorder can relate to the constant adrenaline rushes, racing thoughts and inability to relax mentally or physically. Because of this, it makes perfect sense that we struggle to wind down and relax when it’s time to go to bed. Add in unhealthy habits like late night scrolling and inconsistent routines and it’s pretty much game-over. It was at this point that I started doing my own research on ways I could help train my body to fall into a state of relaxation and properly shut everything down at a reasonable hour.

Below are a few of my non-negotiables and favorite rituals that I enforce as often as I can to increase the odds of a good nights sleep:

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I go to bed at the same time every night ⏰ Obviously on the weekends if I’m being a social 🦋 (rare), this isn’t always the case but during the week we run a tight ship.

I stop drinking caffeine at 12pm ☕️ (as in, the last sip of coffee must be in my system BY 12pm or it’s going down the drain). Literally - I will pour the thing out because my body is that sensitive to it.

I set up the lights on our bedside tables to turn red at 8pm on the dot 💡 As soon as the sun sets, I like for the bedroom to start giving off chill 🤙 vibes~ The red light not only helps with melatonin production (!) but it serves as a friendly reminder that it’s time to start winding things down

I take magnesium 💊 I have experimented with the pill form, the powder into water form and the liquid supplement form. They’re all great but I personally prefer the liquid version because it’s super quick and seems to work the best. This one also tastes amazing so there’s that.

I dry brush 3-4 times a week before my bath/shower at night 🧽 I know this is great for your lymphatic system + detoxing but to be honest, I just do it because it feels really good.

I take a bubble bath 🛁 I turn the lights down low, light a candle and use some high quality bath salts to help detox and relax my body. Full disclosure, this isn’t always on the menu for me (lack of patience/time/etc.) but I’ve found that there are plenty of ways to make a shower just as relaxing and enjoyable. Like by using these!!

I adjust my iPhone to the red light feature 📱 Honestly, I learned this one on TikTok and it’s been a game changer. No blue light at bedtime people! Here’s a tutorial on how to set it up for those interested.

I read my Kindle instead of scrolling on social media 📖 I recently upgraded to kindle unlimited and I’ve never been happier. At any given time, I’ve got like 75 books going, it’s heaven. Here are the ones I’m currently reading and loving - this, this and this!

I use lavender pillow spray 🛌 I’ve tried out a few different brands and love this one the most - it smells like you’re at the spa and helps you unwind, truly! I know spending $30 on a little bottle is hard to do so here’s a more affordable option to start with so you can see if you actually enjoy the experience before committing to the big boy

I take good care of my oral health 🦷 (tongue scraping, flossing, etc.) - something about feeling super clean helps me sleep better, idk could be residual OCD (fun!) but it is what it is. Fun fact, oral care used to be a massive trigger for me (anything that required opening my mouth or putting something in it lol lol would make me gag to the point of tears. I used to really struggle with this so I understand it may not be available for all - do what you can, baby steps!)

I wear loose pajamas 👚 No under garments or tight clothing - the shorts need to be 20 sizes too big or I’ll opt for a night gown. The less restricted I feel, the easier I can breathe and relax. This doesn’t have to be granny level btw - there are some cute + comfy ones but honestly who really cares what the person next to you thinks, everyone’s eyes are closed while these things are worn so

I use a white noise machine 💤 I LOOOVE my Snooz - it connects to bluetooth and I have it programmed to turn on around 9pm. Again, the more things we can automate, the easier it will be to adopt into our routine. I love these machines so much that I invested in a mini travel version as well so it never has to leave my side. I am a super light sleeper so anything that helps wash out background noise is a 10/10

And that’s it! Some nights it’s a little fancier (I’ll have a tea, do some stretching or use my acupressure mat) and other nights I just hop straight into bed but for the most part, I always incorporate the above as it’s had a massive effect on my quality of life in general. Better sleep = less anxiety = better sleep = less anxiety and off we go on the merry go round.

A final caveat, if you are overwhelmed by the list, I get it. I didn’t adopt it all overnight. As with anything, I started small with 1-2 steps that felt doable and slowly added in the additional ones until I felt my routine was complete. Do whatever works best for you - pick a few, pick zero. I really dont care as long as whatever you are doing is helping you get some good sleeps because lord knows we all need it.

xoxo🫶🏻