Daily WellnessApr 25, 2025
Everybody needs sleep, but once we reach adulthood, bedtime and rest can become more of a challenge. There has been a resurgence in the importance of making time for rest, but even still, one in three adults report they aren’t getting enough sleep.1 As a gentle reminder: Adults ages 18 to 60 need at least seven hours a night!1
Sometimes pinpointing the cause of a sleepless or restless night is easy: You flew from Oregon to New York. Your toddler is teething and cranky. You’re nervous about some exciting news that’s coming at work tomorrow. Other times, our sleep hygiene is to blame for a “white night,” as the French call it. Sleep hygiene sounds like how often we wash our sheets or whether we floss nightly, but it’s the term for all the habits and lifestyle choices that influence the quantity and quality of our sleep. Let’s look at four things you can start tonight that can help you prioritize rest and sleep!*
Whether we’re 8, 18, or 80, we all thrive on routine – and that includes a regular bedtime. Our natural sleep cycle is called the circadian rhythm. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time, even on weekends, can help keep us in rhythm. Start by deciding on your ideal wake-up time. Then, count backward from that time, remembering that you want to aim for seven hours or more. Need to wake up at 6:30? You should be in bed by 11:30 p.m.
No judgment: Do you reach for your phone before you get out of bed? Is it also the last thing you see before closing your eyes at night? You are definitely not alone! Using your phone late at night exposes you to blue light, a type of light that naturally signals to the brain that it’s time to be alert.2 This is helpful during the day but not after dark, when your brain is also getting natural internal cues that it’s time to wind down. Put your phone to work for you, but aim to do so before bedtime. Turn on the “do not disturb” hours and use the “sleep focus” setting. Dim the screen after dark and consider charging your phone in another room overnight.
Did you know there’s a name for the habit of staying up way past bedtime and sabotaging your sleep? It’s called revenge bedtime procrastination – and experts say it’s a way for us to take back our personal time, even when we know we’ll pay for it tomorrow.3 Some nights, it’s just too tempting to binge-watch a new show, read a few chapters of a good book, or do whatever you want.
If this is a habit you’d like to break, set an hour-long timer. When it goes off, assess what you’re doing and whether you’d be better off sleeping. For a lot of us, late at night is our only free time. Block out 30 minutes to an hour for some “me time”, then go to bed. Tomorrow, you’ll be grateful for that balance.
If you feel like your to-do list is staring you down while you try to sleep, make an intentional break between daytime and nighttime. A proper evening rhythm gives your body the signal it’s time to sleep. You might enjoy doing some deep breathing, sipping a cup of Sleepy Shut-Eye Tea, listening to soothing music, or gentle stretching. You can also make a ritual out of taking your favorite bedtime herbal allies, like our Relaxing Sleep™ formula, Herbs on the Go: Bed Time™, or Valerian (Psst, we have Valerian, Alcohol-Free too!). We hope that these four tips lead you to sweet dreams tonight!*
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