How you start your day is important, as it can set the tone for the rest of the day. Use daily morning rituals to start your day with self-care. But also how you end your day is important. What you do in the hours before going to sleep matters more than you think. We know that eating late, drinking coffee in the afternoon, spending time with screens (television, computer, phone), working till late and exercising late can affect your sleep.
Create your own evening ritual and wind down for a good rest. So you also have something to look forward to. Pamper yourself because you are worth it. Being grateful for the day and getting prepared for a good night’s sleep. Try to have your evening ritual at least a few times in the week. Don’t be strict on yourself to do it every day when it’s not possible. There will be evenings that you will be working extra, going to gym in the late evening, watching a movie or having dinner with friends. That is also ok. Just see what is possible for you.
So what can you do to end the day in a good way? Start with making a calm space of your bedroom. It has to be clean, relaxing and calm. So no clutter and no electronic devices. There are different things you can do to end your day in a good way. Hereby a list with some suggestions. Choose and try the things that are matching you.
- Unplug. Switch off your screens as early as possible in the evening. If that is too difficult for you, switch at least the blue light filter on. Disconnect from technology.
- Journaling. Write down your thoughts and feelings. How was your day? Are there some issues or things you have struggled with? What can you do to improve it? By writing it down you can let these things go.
- Gratitude. Buy a gratitude journal and write three things down each day you are grateful for. It can be a nice walk in the sunshine, a call from a friend, going to gym or the presence of your cat who made you smile.
- Do some evening yoga. Choose relaxing yoga, like hatha yoga, yin yoga or yoga nidra.
- Take a shower. Water is healing and therapeutic. Let go of your thoughts and wash everything away.
- Dim the lights. You naturally slow down and get sleepy when you dim the lights.
- Drink a cup of evening tea. It helps you to relax and prepare for the night.
- Reading. Choose something relaxing, like some beautiful poems or wise words. And choose a physical book, not an e-book.
- Meditate. You can choose for a longer meditation or to do a visualisation.
- Listen to relaxing music. Set a timer and listen to some instrumental piano music and wind down into the night.
I am curious about your evening ritual. What do you do in the evening to end your day in a good way? Please share with me.
Jane Regina Sauer 