How you end your day is just as important as how you begin it.

You can start a day doing everything right, but what really counts is what happens at the end, right?

You can eat healthy, exercise, hydrate and make better choices throughout the whole day, but if you’re repeatedly making poor bedtime choices, you’re just sabotaging yourself.

If you’re constantly screwing everything up in the end, you’ll end up struggling to stay healthy and fit.

I was so stuck up with my morning rituals, while I was forgetting one really important fact:

The beginning of the day is when we have the most productive potential and are ready for a new start – but it’s the end of the day when we all seem to mess up.

Since I’ve been making the same mistakes too each night, over and over again, I decided to build a bedtime ritual to follow.

That’s why today, I’m going to give you my own solution to this problem I struggled with for years – a few tiny bedtime habits, the bedtime routine that absolutely changed my life!

17 FIT GIRLS BEDTIME HABITS – BEDTIME ROUTINE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

You may be wondering how can a bedtime routine change your life.

Well, if you end up your day in the right way, you’ll:

  • Get high quality sleep
  • Feel energized and rested
  • Make proper muscle recovery
  • Prepare for the following day
  • Stop feeling grumpy
  • Get healthy and fit.

This means that your mornings will start with great energy, your days will be extraordinary and your nights calm and healthy.

And that my dear girls, is the recipe for healthy and fit life.

That’s how you change your life:

By changing one of these tiny little bedtime habits you’ll improve your whole life in the long term.

So don’t let another bad night slip through your fingers, with the help of my bedtime routine.

1. Shake Things Up

I always like having my protein at bedtime.

Whey not only helps me sleep better, but it treats my muscles right throughout the night too.

Since most of the recovery takes place at night while the whole body is resting, shaking it before bed will stimulate protein synthesis rates and keep the amino acids in our blood for the entire night.

Some experts will suggest Casein to be the better choice for a late night load up because it takes more time for our body to absorb it, but whatever you choose your muscles will be grateful.

2. Brush Your Teeth Right After Dinner

This is my favorite psychological trick, since it’s one of the few that works for me.

I’ve noticed that when I brush my teeth right after dinner I seem to go to bed without having any late night snack on the way.

And that’s not a good idea at all.

So, this simple trick will help you discourage your late-night eating habits as your body begins to recognize that after you brush your teeth your body is done eating for the day.

Ohh, the ways our brain works… :)

3. Take The Sleepy Element

Do you know why drinking a glass of milk is good for helping you get to sleep?

It’s because milk contains a lot of magnesium and other minerals that are treating your whole body and affects your sleep better than melatonin.

 

Also, if you’re an active person on daily basis, as I am, your body needs magnesium intake daily, since it plays a major role in keeping the heart, bones and muscles strong and it’s essential to the whole body for energy and cellular production, proteins, enzymes, and antioxidants.

Unfortunately, so many active people are having magnesium deficiency without knowing.

If we don’t consume sufficient amounts of magnesium, the body will take magnesium from other sources like our bones. Of course, as fascinating as it sounds this state of deficiency is less than ideal. Chronic magnesium deficiency leads to bone weakness.”

 – Britta Kallevang, Life Hack

Having my magnesium right before I go to bed not only helps my muscles relax, but it induces those sleepy states that you feel before actually falling asleep.

I use ones that contain Vitamin B in it, which is also pretty helpful supplement.

4. Track Your Sleep

Gathering and analyzing your own sleeping data is one great way to start living healthier life.

This gives you the opportunity to sneak into your own dreams and have the record of your sleeping habits, and since quality and number of hours of sleep are proven to be a factor in having good health and maintaining a healthy weight, tracking your sleep is a great idea.

You’ll get daily info on your sleeping duration, deep sleep, light sleep and number of times you’ve wakened during the night.

Nowadays, there are thousands of sleeping apps and sleeping tracking devices that helps you track your sleep and get the best out of it.

Despite the leading ones in the industry, FitBit, I’ve recently started using the MiFit band and I’m thrilled of the sleeping data this budget friendly fitness tracker provides.

If you want to check them out, click on the button bellow get up to 50% off on different Fitbit accessories.

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5. Warm Shower

While cold showers wakes your vessels and arteries up, getting your whole body ready for the new day, the warm shower dilates and relaxes them.

This means that a warm shower just before your head on to bed can help you relax and fall asleep faster.

First, foremost, and probably most obviously, heat helps you relax.
When your muscles are aching, a hot towel can really help relax them.
A hot shower can have the same effect, relieving tension and relaxing those muscles.
A hot shower also has the potential to allow your body to release oxytocin, a hormone which can lead to more relaxed feelings.
On a more physics-related note, a warm bath or shower will raise your body temperature, which will then quickly drop once you step out of it.
This drop in temperature can help to relax your body.”

– The Sleep Judge, “How Sleep and Weight Loss are Connected”

Just note to never EVER go to bed with wet hair – it can cause an awful migraine that will drag on to the next day.

***BONUS***

If you are having troubles relaxing and falling asleep, try using a pillow mist.

My dearest friend Ana from 365 Beauty Tips will show you how to make the perfect homemade pillow mist, with lavender and chamomile oil.

You have to try it, it works for me just perfect!

6. Snack Smart

I prefer not having a snack at least an hour or two before bed, but sometimes I just can’t do it, I can’t fall asleep if I’m hungry, so I started having little snacks in the bedtime hours.

Late night snacks are not that bad of a choice if you’re snacking smart.

This brings up the rule #1, if you are going to eat close to bedtime, DO NOT have a carbohydrate rich snack!

When you ingest carbohydrates, your body releases insulin to control your blood sugar.
Insulin is a fat STORING hormone and not something you want abundantly flowing through your system before bed.” 

– Isabel De Los Rios, Beyond Diet

fit snacks banner

And these carb rich snacks list includes not only every single kind of bad carbs and sugars, but carbs in general, grains, whole grains, roots and fruits.

So the best choice for a late night snack is definitely a protein based one, and maybe optionally sided by healthy fats.

Here’re some examples:

  • Beef Jerky
  • Slice of chicken/turkey breast
  • Avocado
  • Seeds or nuts
  • Hard boiled egg
  • Whey

Proteins are the best choice when it comes to late night snacking, they help your muscles recover faster, they’ll keep you satisfied longer and release the opposing hormone, glucagon, known as the fat burning hormone.

7. Do Yoga In Bed

There’s nothing more relaxing and as a good night yoga sequence, in the comfort of your bed.

I’ve been doing it every night now, I’ll dim the lights, go to my bed and start sinking into my favorite night poses.

It helps me calm and de-stress even when it feels impossible to fall asleep.

The best thing is you don’t even have to do a full yoga routine, just a few of the right poses and you’re all set.

Also I found out that we’re losing weight while sleeping  you can check out the infographic too.

Now head on to my bedtime routine yoga sequence:

8. Eight Is Great

A goodnight sleep is crucial when it comes to weight loss and maintaining fit and healthy body.

Being short on sleep can seriously affect your weight, fitness performances, nutrition choices and weight loss efforts in general.

If this cascade of events happens a few times each year, no problem.
Trouble is, more than a third of Americans aren’t getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Yet experts agree that getting enough shut-eye is as important to health, well-being, and your weight as are diet and exercise.”

Web MD

There are many studies on the issue of how much sleep do we really need, and they all lead to the same number – 8.

No more no less.

Setting up the boundary at 8-9 hours is the best thing you can do, in order to keep your muscles rested and recovered, while having a healthy sleep each night,

9. Make a Plan For The Next Day

Planning at the end of the day is one really important key that will help you organize and be more productive.

Believe me, when you plan it especially when you ink it on paper, you’ll probably do it.

So plan your meals ahead, snacks, workout and exercises, set up an alarm and head on to bed knowing tomorrow is organized and planned out.

10. Hide The Lights

I know how cozy it can be to light up some lights in the room you sleep in, but make sure to avoid sleeping with any lights on, in the name of high quality sleeping.

Did you know that even a dimmed light can prevent deep sleep and mess up with your sleeping cycle?

Make sure to hide the lights – the darker the better.

11. Don’t Make Mistakes At Dinner

Dinner is the one meal of the day you least want to mess up.

If you’re going to do a cheat meal, always do it earlier in the day so your body could metabolize the food by the end of the day or burn it out on the training.

If you cheat on your dinner you won’t give your body the chance to do these things and you’ll probably head on to bed with unnecessary calorie, energy and carbohydrate load up, that will eventually turn into fat.

So make sure to always keep it clean and healthy, especially when it comes to the last meal of the day.

12. Set Up a Late Night Run

A run is always a good idea.

Especially if you haven’t done your cardio activity for the day, a bedtime run will be a great idea.

It will exhaust you in a good way, so you’ll sleep as a baby the whole night.

The fact that running at night can mess up with your sleep is a myth, while it might take you a few more minutes to conk out, it’ll definitely help you to improve your sleep quality.

13. Have A Cup Of Tea

There’s a good reason why so many people around the world begin and end their days with a cup of tea:

By having this hot beverage you’re welcoming a cup full of health!

It’ll boost up your metabolic rate, help you sleep better and promote weight loss.

Note that there are teas that are not the best idea for a late night cheer, such as green tea or black tea which contain lots of caffeine.

Also, make sure to have your tea clean – don’t add any sweeteners, even honey.

My personal favorite decaffeinated tea when it comes to bedtime is chamomile.

14. Eat Your Dinner At Least 2-3 hours before bed

It’s not a good idea to sleep on an empty stomach, but it’s even worse if you do it on full.

Not only you’ll have trouble falling asleep, but you will slow digestion, cause bloating and gas, and potentially lead to weight gain.

The thing is metabolic organs like the liver seem to get confused, because they’re not prepared to deal with an influx of nutrients at that time, so they process the late night nutrients less efficiently.

And that can spell problems for your insulin and blood sugar levels, which prompts your body to store more fat.

My ideal time to have dinner is 2-3 hours before shutting down.

15. Sleep In A Cooler Room

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night feeling hot and uncomfortable?

Well, the reason for that is probably your room temperature isn’t adjusted to your body temperature.

When we fall asleep our bodies naturally cool off and sleeping in a hot room prevents it to drop down as it should.

Sleeping in a room with a cooler temperature actually helps our bodies and has plenty of benefits:

  • Help you fall asleep faster and sleep better
  • Improve your insulin usage
  • Speed up your metabolism
  • Provide healthier and higher quality sleep
  • Make sure to burn some calories while you sleep.

Letting your body temperature drop naturally while you sleep is good for your sleeping cycle too and it encourages deeper sleep.

16. Kiss Technology Goodnight

Staring at the screen of your smartphone or tablet, even TV screen won’t help you fall asleep.

In fact, the artificial light from the screen suppresses melatonin production, sending your body mixed signals which makes it even harder to fall asleep afterwards.

Even though this is a habit that we probably all have, to stare at the smartphone in the dark, but this is definitely one we have to reconsider.

Try leaving it out at least an hour before bedding down, and see the changes for yourself.

17. Always Get In Bed In Melatonin Friendly Hours

We all know we should head on to bed earlier, but do you know why?

Melatonin, known as the sleepy hormone is a natural hormone made by the body’s pineal gland.

During the day the pineal is inactive which explains the fact that daytime levels of melatonin are barely detectable, but when the sun goes down and daylight starts disappearing, the pineal gland activates and starts producing melatonin.

This process usually occurs around 9 pm and lasts for 12 hours.

Not getting your sleep in these hours will cause you feeling tired, depressed and feel lack of sleep even though you’ve been sleeping for 8 hours.

This is the main reason why we should always try getting to bed before midnight.

Ladies, it’s your turn to change some bedtime habits and make your own bedtime routine!

Always remember to fall asleep with a dream and wake up with a purpose”

Don’t forget to include at least a few of these bedtime habits in your everyday life, and see the change for yourself.

And most important of all, don’t forget to share this bedtime routine with your friends!

‘Night ‘night!