I think we can all agree that this past year has been pretty tough. My life may be slightly different as I didn’t really have a “set” schedule - as an ED nurse; while my hours were always the same, my days changed week-to-week, and it was a constant juggle between my schedule, my husband’s schedule, and making sure we had appropriate child care. Then in July I left the ED to start working in clinical research. Due to Covid protocols, we were split into teams and going into the office only two days a week, with each person rotating through having to go into work on Fridays. Going from three 12-hour shifts to 5 8-hour shifts was definitely a change! While a lot of it was (and still is!) work from home, there is still a schedule I need to follow. There are now meetings to attend, and things I am in charge of keeping organized. I came to the realization that I needed more routine in my life - set things that I do daily that are always the same to get myself into good habits. I had been having trouble sleeping for a while, and I decided that a nighttime routine would be the first thing I implemented.

I have used sleep hypnosis in the past to help me fall asleep, because my mind is always running a million miles a minute and I have a hard time shutting it down and not just constantly thinking about what is next on my to-do list. Unfortunately, I can’t find the sleep hypnosis recording I used to use a while ago (I will find it again one day!) so I went on a search for an app to help me sleep. I cycled through a few until I fell upon Sleep Machine. Sleep Machine is an ambient noise app. It comes with some presets already made, but you can also make your own mix of ambient noises to fall asleep to. You can set how long you’d like it to play for (I personally keep it on for 3 hours), and you can also set it to have an alarm to wake you up in the morning. I don’t use this feature, but I do think it’s a great feature to have available on the app.

There are two things I consume before I hop into bed - a hot cup of tea, and some melatonin. If I’m being honest, I don’t have a preferred brand of melatonin. I will say that I’m not a huge fan of the one I have right now - it comes as 3mg gummies with the recommended serving of 1 gummy, I prefer at least 5mg, and sometimes use 10mg. I take this about an hour before I plan for lights out. I also have at least one cup of Twinings Chamomile, Honey & Vanilla tea. The smell alone is wonderful, but it’s just a nice relaxing & cozy part of my routine.

Next up is skin & tooth-care. Of course there’s flossing and mouthwash and brushing my teeth. Skincare is really the brunt of my nightly routine. If I’ve worn makeup that day, I have a makeup-removing balm to take it off, then a cleanser for my face. There’s toner, serum, maracuja oil, and eye cream. Then cuticle cream and lotion. Then I FINALLY hop into bed, but the routine isn’t over yet! Once I get in bed, I journal a bit. I always write about good things that have happened during the day, and I also write about things that I need to work on. Then I write about goals, plans, lyrics I heard that I really like, inspirational or positive quotes. Just a way to reflect on the day and plan for the future. Finally, I pick up whatever book I’m reading and try to read two or three chapters before I finally turn the lights out (usually around 10pm) and fall asleep.

Since becoming a mom, falling asleep and staying asleep has been a major struggle, even after Jack started sleeping through the night. I would often find myself waking up around 3 or 4am and not being able to fall back to sleep. It was miserable. Since I have started my routine, though, I sleep through the night. I find myself waking up actually feeling refreshed and like I had a full night’s sleep. My next goal is to start a set morning routine; what are your routine goals?! Share below in the comments!