Ever wondered what makes you wake up either tired or excited?
How you end your day has a significant impact on the following day’s outcome. If you are like me, always looking for ways to become more productive, you are in the right place.
The following article contains the best things to do before bed. Highly productive people have endorsed these practices. These things will improve your sleep quality, boost productivity, and improve your mental and physical health.
Do you want to sleep and perform better? Please stick with me till the last bit; some of the things here will amaze you.
15 Best Things to Do Before Bed
This is the list of 15 productive things that you can do before bed. Not necessarily you have to follow each of them, but at least try to do 5 of them.
1. Plan for the Next Day
This idea was shared with me by an online mentor. He said that highly productive people plan their actions at night and wake up to execute them. Before going to bed, sit quietly and prepare for the next day. Make a to-do list of activities you plan to undertake the next day. It would be best to plan what you will wear and the food to take the next day.
Have you ever walked into a hotel and had no idea what to order? I’ve also been there. It is a lack of proper planning that leads us into these situations.
Planning is crucial because it gives purpose, a sense of direction, and the zeal to push through the day. This is the best thing one can do before going to bed.
2. Work on a Side Hustle
You can never go wrong in investing. One source of income is never enough; you need to be working on side hustles to supplement your income. Before going to bed, commit 1-2 hours to your side hustle. The side hustle may be an income-generating project, like blogging, affiliate marketing, network marketing, etc.
You may also further your studies, take courses relevant to your career during this time. Whichever the case, work on it and accomplish the goals you have set for the side hustle.
Working on a side hustle will give you more confidence, satisfaction, and a sense of accomplishment every time you go to bed. Knowing that you did your best, not only in your job but also in your career growth, is a huge confidence booster.
If you want to be more confident, I have written a dedicated article on “How to be more confident“, check that out.
3. Read Good Books for 10-15 minutes.
Did you know that you can reduce your stress levels by 68% by reading a book for 6 minutes?
This was made true by research done by the University of Sussex. I define books as “wisdom of the world available for you” You love the idea of being wise? Read books.
Before bed, take time to read books for at least 15 minutes. You can exceed up to 30 minutes if a chapter is longer. This improves your sleep quality, adds to your creativity, improves concentration, and is a tremendous sleep-inducing technique. Before going to bed, I read a chapter or two, which induces my sleep.
My current read is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl.
4. Stay up to Date with The News
The world is changing in dynamic ways. To keep up with the pace, you need to be updated with current news constantly. News forms a part of our life; they not only inform us but also educate us.
Before going to sleep, take time to watch the news on what you love. I love business news, what about you? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
You may be a fanatic of politics, sports, world news, etc. Whichever the niche, ensure you are updated. It is very imperative to note that watching the news on TV, computer, or smartphone can be time-consuming and unproductive if done for extended periods. You should set time limits, have fewer news sources, and avoid bad news.
Don’t waste time from one channel to another for news. Stick to one or two, watch the 9 pm news and proceed to the next task. This will make you updated and productive.
5. Do Easy Yoga for Better Sleep/ Meditate
Are you yearning for a relaxed good night’s sleep? Incorporating a yoga session before going to bed will give you the peaceful and quality sleep you are looking for.
Additionally, yoga is an excellent remedy to insomnia and aids in weight loss. Yoga practice gives your body a relaxation response, the opposite of the fight or flight response.
You can also incorporate a meditation time as you do yoga. Meditation improves your concentration, mind and leads to improved decision-making. Giving time to meditate and think about the possibilities ahead of you will also guide you in goal-setting.
Meditation and yoga will give you better sleep and improve your body, mind, and soul performance.
6. Spend Quality Time with Family
One of the best things to do before bed is spending quality time with family.
Your relationships have a significant impact on your sleep and performance. Spending quality time with your spouse, children, and other family members before sleeping will improve your sleep and reduce stress levels.
Commit time to spend with your children to know their well-being and performance in school. After eating together, take your children to bed and read bedtime stories until they fall asleep. This will create a great bond between you and the kids and motivate you to work harder for them.
After that, sit with your spouse and have quality time discussing your welfare and making plans. The healthy relationship you create will reduce anxiety, elevate your performance, and boost your mental and physical health.
7. Keep a Hygiene Ritual
Hygiene rituals are things to do before bed that is known to improve the quality of sleep. After a long day at work, we need a good rest. However, you may wake up feeling exhausted than you were before going to bed. Your hygiene rituals may cause this.
To improve your sleep quality, add to your to-do list some rituals like brushing your teeth, taking a relaxing hot bath, massage, and skin care practices like scrubbing.
The hygiene will boost melatonin production, which will induce your sleep. Your body must be in a relaxed mode for you to get a good sleep. Practicing such hygiene rituals will improve your health, skin, and sleep.
8. Eat Smart
I know you are probably wondering what eating smart is about. Is it the same as eating healthy? Well, they might be almost similar but at night, what do you need most? Sleep, right? Eating smart before bed means eating food rich in sleep-inducing hormones and that will keep you energized but help you maintain or lose weight at the same time.
Melatonin is the hormone that regulates our sleeping cycle. You can eat melatonin-rich food such as bananas, cherries, tomatoes, and walnuts. You may also take tryptophan-rich foods like milk, fish, and other protein-rich foods. Tryptophan increases the levels of serotonin and melatonin in your body.
You should not eat immediately before bed. Instead, eat some hours before bed, then take any food above to increase melatonin levels.
Eating smart will increase your metabolism rate at night, aid in weight loss, improve your sleep quality and reduce insomnia.
9. Drink a Glass of Water
Drinking water before bed is one of the best things to do before bed. Water is an essential source of life. Drinking a glass of water before sleeping stabilizes the hormone levels in your body, making you fall asleep faster.
At night our bodies may become dehydrated; drinking water reverses that, thus improving your metabolism rate, digestion, and removal of toxins in your bed. The sweat will remove the excess salts and toxins, leaving your body and skin cells clean.
You will also burn more calories by drinking a glass of water before bed, thus maintaining a healthy body weight. You may not feel the changes after one day of drinking water, but in the long run, you will note changes.
10. Reflect on the Good Things From the Day
Before going to bed, reflect on how your day was. Psychologist Martin Seligman suggests having a journal and writing three good things that happened in the day. As you write and appreciate the outcomes of the day, your positive mental attitude starts rising. It also reduces stress, knowing that good things happened to you even if there were some fallbacks in the day.
Before falling asleep, the mind may flash back negative things that have happened to you. Counterattack such thoughts by focusing on exciting and light moments you shared with family or friends. The smiles, laughter, a problem you solved at work, the warm hugs from your spouse and children, etc.
This will help you be optimistic about life and induce you to sleep a good quality sleep.
11. Picture Tomorrow’s Success
Every success story starts with a dream. After setting your goals, take time to picture the success that will come if you commit yourself to work on your goals. This strategy is called the Law of Attraction. As Napoleon Hill said, “What your mind can conceive, it can achieve.”
Take 10-15 minutes before bed to set a vivid picture of tomorrow’s success. You should see yourself winning, crushing your goals, and propelling your career forward. When you picture yourself in the level of frequency you aim to be, the law of attraction will work for you. Sure enough, you will attract the good things you keep thinking about.
These pictures will excite you and give you enthusiasm, courage, and determination to work on your dreams the moment you step out of bed.
12. Say a Prayer of Gratitude
Regardless of your religion, saying a prayer of gratitude after reflecting on the good things that have happened to you is crucial. Before going to bed, I remember the good stuff and say a prayer of gratitude. This always gives me a calming sensation and the hope that I will attract good things into my life every day.
Gratitude helps in boosting your mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. Wherever I feel stressed, I reflect on the good things and say a prayer of gratitude. Even if you’re sick, you should thank God that you are still breathing.
It also raises your optimism, making you carry on with your duties with the mindset that things will be better. Your relationship with others will also improve if you practice gratitude. You probably hated your parent at some point for not letting you do the things you wanted. But, when you reflect on all the love and care they give to you, the bond even becomes more robust.
13. Limit Screen Time at least 30 Minutes Before Bed
We are all guilty of switching off the lights and switching on our smartphones or laptops. This habit may seem ordinary, but it has adverse effects on your health, sleep, and performance. Electronic devices emit a blue light which can cause damage to your eye retina. It also hinders the production of the melatonin hormone, which will make it hard for you to fall asleep.
You may also find yourself being alert at night and spending nighttime watching videos and posts on social media platforms. Sleeping late and tired will make you wake up late and feeling unproductive.
You should put away your electronic devices; maybe leave your phone charging in another room and go to sleep. Use the time to reflect, say a prayer or read books.
14. Set Sleep Environment
Your bedroom should be in an environment that induces melatonin production and improves sleep quality. The room should be dark, use a dark curtain, and be well-aerated. The temperature should be cool around 16-240 C; high temperatures are uncomfortable.
Your bedroom should also have a pleasant and calming smell. The use of essential oils like lavender improves relaxation and sleep quality.
Your mattress should be comfortable to reduce back pains. Use clean beddings and a warm duvet or blanket to set an ideal sleep environment. Switch off the lights and electronic devices to reduce light and disturbing sounds at night.
Setting an ideal sleep improvement will give you comfort, satisfaction and induce you to fall into a relaxing sleep.
15. Set Your Clock
The last thing to do before bed should be to set your alarm clock. Setting the alarm means that you will run your tasks on time the next day since you woke up early enough. Setting an alarm clock also reduces anxiety. Not having set the alarm will make you keep waking up to check the time in fear of being late.
I’ve set my alarm to ring at 5 am, and most of the time, I am up before it rings. This is an effect of altering my circadian rhythm. When you wake up and sleep at the same time consistently, you will have no difficulty waking up even without alarms.
Set your alarm before bed and ensure that it is close to your bed so that you can hear it once it rings.
Still, if you find it difficult to wake up early in the morning, check out my article on “How to wake up early” and follow the steps. I’m sure it will work.
Also, don’t forget to follow a daily morning routine to stay productive. I have made a list of 15 things to do in the morning that you can follow some of them too.
Important Take-Away
Have you been wondering what practices you to incorporate before going to sleep? I believe that your search is over. My wish is that you be a doer and not just a reader. To implement these practices and crush your goals.
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