It can sometimes be a struggle to get your kids to go to sleep, but when the time comes for your bedtime, I’m sure you are happy to oblige!
After the kids go to bed, you relish in the quietness and independence the night allows.
But making sure you provide a good foundation for your bedtime routine can do wonders for your sleep and trickle into a better morning.
I would argue that your bedtime routine is the determining factor of how the next day will go. Without restful, quality sleep, you drag through the day feeling like a pretty miserable version of yourself.
When I was in the newborn phase with my kids, I was sleep deprived on the daily. The sleep deprivation took a tole on my mental health. I would say this is the first time I realized how vital good sleep is. I now make sleep a top priority for myself which means I miss out on alone time in front of the TV, or staying up late to catch up with friends.
My bedtime routine has become sacred because it gets me to bed at a reasonable time in a restful way. I share my bedtime routine toward the end of this post, but let’s look a bit deeper at how important bedtime routines are for adults.
The Importance of a Bedtime Routine
As an adult, routines have many benefits. Routines provide you with direction, so you know what your next step is going to be instead of standing in paralyzes or overwhelm. Along these lines, routines can help eliminate stress and anxiety. Creating and sticking to routines also helps with time management.
Not only do our minds crave consistency, but our bodies do also. Once your body is in a routine, it starts to prepare naturally for the next steps. In this case that would be sleep.
Just like your child’s bedtime routine helps them calm down, your bedtime routine signals to your body that rest is on the horizon and it’s time to power down.
Creating a bedtime routine for yourself is key to assuring you get the sleep you need (and your body craves). You may not get uninterrupted sleep – my 5 year old still wakes up a few times a week and sneaks in our room – but you will have structured your time for sleep.
Best Tips to Start a Bedtime Routine
If you are looking to put a better bedtime routine in place for yourself, implement these tips:
- Decide when lights out will be for you. I used to just turn the lights off when I found myself dozing. But sometimes that meant I stayed up later than I needed to and I would struggle to wake up the next day. Now I turn off my reading lamp at 9 pm even if my eyes are still wide awake. I usually fall asleep within minutes.
- Work backward from your “lights out” time to see how much time you can dedicate to your bedtime routine. You may have grand ideas about journaling and taking a bath, only to realize that you probably have 30 minutes after putting the kids to bed to go through this routine.
- Incorporate what needs to get done before you hit the hay. I’m thinking this will probably be things like washing your face, showering, brushing your teeth…
- Pick one relaxing activity that will help you drift into a calm slumber. For me this is reading, but it might be watching your favorite TV show, or listening to a podcast.
- Set your phone up so that it isn’t a distraction during bedtime. I set a bedtime mode on my phone so after a certain time, I don’t receive alerts from text messages or phone calls. I also try to abide by the rule that I won’t be on my phone after 8:30 pm.
Once you have your bedtime routine figured out, it’s as simple as going through the motions until your in your groove and it’s become habitual.
You can find more information on starting routines for yourself by checking out The Beginners Guide to Family Routines.
7 Moms Share Their Bedtime Routine
Because I love to hear about how other moms do things, I reached out to a few moms with kids of different ages to get a peek into their bedtime routine. I hope this provides you with some inspiration and motivation to create a night time routine for yourself so you can reap the benefits of great sleep!
Jessica of A Modern Mom’s Life is mom to an 8 and 11 year old:
- 9 pm – Finish up with my daughters bedtime. I watch one show most evenings – often eating dinner at this time as we are out at dance classes until 8 pm most nights.
- 9:45 pm – On a good night, I will brush my teeth and wash my face then be in bed shortly after 10 pm. Some nights we watch a show in bed (which I will fall asleep during) or else I read for 10 or 15 minutes. Sometimes I fall asleep with book in hand.
- 10:30 pm – Lights out.
Daphna of A Tiny Trip is mom to an 8, 7 and 3 year old:
- 8 pm – Lights out for the kids! Sometimes I will do a final 5-10 minute tidy but usually I will just plop down on the couch!
- 8:15 pm – RELAX. Usually this just means watching TV but sometimes I will read a book or have conversations with my husband. The key thing is not to get on the computer, otherwise I end up staying up too late and the blue light makes it hard to fall asleep.
- 9:30 pm – Get ready for bed: brush teeth, wash face, drink water. Some days I will also fill the diffuser with water and essential oils.
- 9:45 pm – Get in bed. Spray bottoms of feet with magnesium oil. (This is my best tip for falling asleep quickly within 15-20 minutes.). I will often read on my phone for a few minutes before I turn it off and go to sleep. What works for me is to have the absolute lowest brightness and read articles or books.
- 10 pm – Asleep for the night!
Rose of MomLife Organizer is mom to a 5, 9, and 11 year old:
Rose says, “I love creating routines because they structure my life as a stay at home/work at home mom. However, my routine is somewhat fluid depending on the night.”
- 9 pm – I usually will watch something to relax with a cup of tea.
- 9:30 pm – I get offline and go to the bathroom. I wash my face, brush my teeth and prepare my hair for bed. This usually includes either braiding or twisting it.
- 9:50 pm – I will update my planner for the next day and journal.
- 10 pm – I might read or pray.
- 10:30 pm – Go to sleep.
Nikki of Nikki Lynn Creates is mom to a 3 month old:
- 9:30 pm – Have a glass of wine and do some journaling about what was accomplished during the day and what is left to do. I will also make a list of everything that needs to be done the next day.
- 10 pm – Read for 20-30 minutes.
- 10:30 pm – If I’m sleepy I’ll go to sleep and if I’m not then I’ll keep reading or watch a little TV for about half an hour while laying down.
Kathryn of Tons of Goodness is a mom to a 6 year old:
Kathryn says, “I usually get ready for bed before we start my child’s bedtime routine. It helps me to feel more relaxed and then I can go right to bed when she’s asleep.”
- 7:15 pm – Take supplements and vitamins.
- 7:20 pm – Brush teeth and wash my face.
- 7:25 pm – I use toner and essential oils on my face.
- 7:30 pm – Put on pajamas.
- 7:35 pm – Fill diffuser with nighttime essential oil and turn on so it fills the room before I go to sleep.
- 7:40 pm – Help my daughter get ready for bed and read books with her.
- 8:45 pm – Go to my bed and sleep.
Crystal of Simply Full of Delight is mom to a 2, 3, 4, and 9 year old:
- 8 pm -Kids in PJ’s, read 3 stories, brush teeth tuck them in and sing bedtime song.
- 8:20 pm – Crash on couch and watch a show with my husband (or work on blog).
- 9 pm – Work on my Blog or Etsy shop.
- 10:30 pm – Take vitamins, prep for next day like laying out cereal bowls, write to do list for next day.
- 10:50 pm – Shower, PJ’s, brush teeth, wash face, and put face cream on.
- 11:20 pm or later – Crawl into bed.
Here is my bedtime routine as a mom to a 5 and 7 year old:
My husband I alternate nights putting the kids to bed. This is my routine on the nights I don’t put the kids to bed:
- 6:30 pm – Finish cleaning up the kitchen, start the dishwasher, tidy up the living area and lock-up the house.
- 7 pm – Watch a show, scroll social media, or work on this blog.
- 8 pm – Head upstairs and change into my pajamas, go through my nighttime skin care routine, and brush teeth,
- 8:30 pm – Get in bed and read.
- 9 pm – Lights out and go to sleep.
What Bedtime Routine Works For You?
Now you’ve taken a glimpse into the bedtime routines of 7 moms in different seasons of life. Are you inspired to change your bedtime routine at all? What is one thing you could do differently to make your sleep a priority? Let me know in the comments below!
