8 Nightly Routines That Can Actually Boost Your Energy for the Next Day

If you’re constantly waking up feeling exhausted, your nighttime routine could be the culprit. To increase your morning energy, there are a number of effortless evening habits you can start implementing, even if you don’t get enough sleep each night. Here are eight simple evening routines, backed by science and sleep experts, to help you wake up with more energy.

“Even if you feel like you can fall asleep just fine, caffeine can still reduce deep sleep, which affects your restful state the next day,” says Kathleen Benson, CSSD, CPT, RDN at VNutrition. Health.

Caffeine has a half-life of about 2 to 12 hours, the time it takes for your body to metabolize half the amount you consume. Since caffeine takes even longer to be completely eliminated by the body, it is recommended to stop drinking caffeine at least eight hours before bed to avoid disrupting sleep.

Eating meals later can lead to poorer sleep and fatigue the next day. Instead, eat lighter, earlier dinners to improve sleep quality (just make sure you don’t go to bed hungry).

“Going to bed on an empty stomach is also not helpful for quality sleep,” Benson said. “Ideally, dinner happens early enough to allow for digestion and comfort, but if hunger sets in later, a small snack with a little protein and fiber can actually promote sleep rather than disrupt it. For example, an apple with peanut butter, a cheese stick with a few crackers, or an orange with a small handful of almonds.”

Although alcohol may help you fall asleep at first, it ultimately disrupts REM sleep and decreases sleep quality, which can leave you exhausted the next day.

“Alcohol has many effects on sleep, and none of them are particularly good,” said Thomas M. Tolbert, MD, assistant professor of medicine (pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Health. “While you’re sleeping and the alcohol is metabolized, you may eventually have ‘REM rebound,’ a sort of vengeful REM with more vivid and intense dreams, more snoring, and, in some people, more sleep apnea breathing.”

To get quality sleep, it’s best to avoid alcohol to get the most out of it.

To reduce decision fatigue the next morning, prepare one thing the night before.

“When you reduce uncertainty about the next day, you reduce anticipatory stress,” said Bruce D. Forman, PhD, a psychologist and author specializing in trauma-informed behavioral sleep medicine and director of the insomnia course at the World Sleep Academy. Health. “This means lower evening activation HPA axis (the system that controls the release of cortisol). If your brain doesn’t feel like tomorrow is a problem to solve, then it’s more likely to shut down at night. »

To encourage more restful sleep, Forman recommends laying out clothes or making a to-do list the night before, which helps decrease mental load and reduce nighttime ruminations (being stuck in a loop of worrying thoughts).

To prepare for a good night’s sleep, it is recommended to dim the lights and reduce screen time at least two hours before bed. Dimming the lights before bed helps stimulate the production of melatonin, a hormone that helps you fall asleep faster. It also helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, our body’s internal clock that controls sleep-wake patterns.

“Like many bodily functions, sleep is controlled by the brainstem, which has a neurological ‘switch’ that alternates between ‘wake’ and ‘sleep,'” Tolbert said. “The switch is less likely to flip to the sleep position (and stay in the sleep position) if the brainstem receives stimuli that promote maintaining wakefulness – and light is the most important stimulus for ‘wakefulness’.”

Creating a predictable 10-minute relaxation ritual before bed is important for reducing cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, and for reducing the activity of certain neurotransmitters that promote wakefulness.

“During the day, stress hormones like cortisol and alertness chemicals like norepinephrine help you stay focused,” Forman said. “At night, these must decrease so that the sleep-promoting systems can take over.”

Forman reports that a consistent 10-minute bedtime routine can reduce sympathetic nervous system activity (which stimulates the body’s fight-or-flight response) and promote the release of melatonin, thereby promoting sleep. He recommends relaxing activities such as dimming the lights, stretching gently, breathing slowly, meditating, or taking a hot shower.

When it comes to staying alert during the day, recent studies suggest that going to bed at a consistent time each night is more important than the number of hours you sleep.

“It’s easier to fall asleep and stay asleep when sleepiness is high and circadian alertness is low,” Tolbert said. “It’s easier to stay awake when the sleep drive is low and circadian alertness is high. Inconsistent hours in and out of bed confuse the brainstem by misaligning these two drives, so it tends to be more difficult to achieve the goal of seven to nine hours of sleep.”

After waking up, go outside to enjoy the natural light outside: this is important for circadian rhythm regulation and sleep health.

“Exposure to morning light, especially natural light, suppresses both melatonin and adenosine that strengthen your circadian rhythm,” Forman said. “Light and activity also improve serotonin regulation.”