end of day routine

everyone obsesses over morning routines. wake up at 5am. cold shower. meditate. journal. exercise. great — except none of that works if you fell asleep at 1am scrolling your phone and got five hours of fragmented sleep.

the night determines the morning

your evening routine isn't glamorous. it won't get likes on social media. but it's the foundation your entire next day is built on. a good night's sleep is the single highest-leverage health intervention available, and you're probably sabotaging it every single evening.

build the wind-down

set an alarm — not to wake up, but to start winding down. 90 minutes before your target bedtime, that alarm goes off and the shutdown sequence begins:

screens off (or at minimum, blue light filters on)
dim the lights in your living space
do something that quiets the mind: read fiction, meditate, stretch, journal
prepare for tomorrow: lay out clothes, review schedule, set intentions
get in bed at the same time every night, even on weekends

consistency matters more than perfection. your circadian rhythm responds to patterns, and an irregular sleep schedule is one of the worst things you can do to your biology.

what to eliminate

caffeine after 2pm. alcohol within 3 hours of bed (it fragments sleep even if it helps you fall asleep). heavy meals close to bedtime. intense exercise within 2 hours. doom scrolling. news. work emails. anything that activates your fight-or-flight response when you should be activating rest-and-digest.

the compound returns

one good night's sleep improves decision-making, emotional regulation, physical recovery, creativity, and immune function. multiply that by 365 and the person who sleeps well is operating on an entirely different level than the person who doesn't.

start tonight

set your wind-down alarm. pick one sleep-friendly activity for the 90-minute window before bed. do it tonight and every night this week. you'll feel the difference by day three.

if this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.