The Evening Rituals That Prepare the Body for a Night of True Rest

There exists a conviction, very diffused among persons of every age, that the sleep is something which simply “happens” when the eyes close and the light goes out. In reality, the quality of the nocturnal rest is decided in the two, three hours that precede the moment in which one lies down in the bed. The body does not pass from a state of full alertness to the deep repair in the space of one minute. It requires a gradual descent, a sequence of small gestures that communicate to the nervous system: now it is the time to leave go.

In this article I will explain, with the language of the experience and not of the laboratory, which evening habits make a real difference for who wakes up tired, with the mind heavy, with the sensation of not having rested at all.

Why the Body Needs a Passage, Not a Switch

The human organism functions with rhythms that have a precise name in the physiology, but that we can call simply “the internal clock.” This clock regulates the temperature, the hormones, the tension of the muscles. When the evening arrives, the body should begin to lower its temperature of about one degree, to produce melatonin, to reduce the cortisol. If, however, in those hours one continues to look at luminous screens, to discuss work questions, to drink coffee, this descent is interrupted. The result is that one arrives in the bed with the body still “awake,” and the first hours of sleep become light, fragmented, of little recovery.

The solution is not to force oneself to sleep. The solution is to construct, evening after evening, a corridor of decompression.

The Environment: Temperature, Darkness, and Silence

Before speaking of what one does, it is necessary to speak of where one does it. The bedroom should be a place that the body associates exclusively with the rest. Three elements result fundamental:

• The temperature. The ideal is between 17 and 19 degrees. A room too warm impedes to the body the natural thermoregulation that accompanies the falling asleep.
• The darkness. Even a small LED of a television in standby can disturb the production of melatonin. It is preferable to eliminate every source of light, or to use curtains of complete occlusion.
• The silence, or a constant soft sound. The brain reacts to the sudden noises. If one lives in a noisy zone, a white noise of low volume can mask the irregular sounds.

These are not details. They are the foundation upon which all the rest is constructed.

What to Eat and Drink in the Last Hours

The digestion is a work that the body must make, and this work requires energy, raises the internal temperature, keeps the organs active. For this reason, the last complete meal should be consumed at least two and a half, three hours before going to bed.

In the evening it is better to prefer:

• A portion of vegetables cooked (zucchini, spinach, fennel), which are easy to digest and rich of magnesium.
• A small quantity of complex carbohydrates: a little rice, a slice of whole bread. These favour the entry of tryptophan in the brain, and from tryptophan the body constructs serotonin and then melatonin.
• To avoid the red meat in the evening, the fried foods, the very seasoned cheeses.

As regard the drinks, a warm infusion of chamomile or of lemon balm is a gesture that comforts and that has a mild relaxing effect. It is necessary, instead, to avoid the alcohol: it gives the illusion of falling asleep sooner, but it fragments the sleep in the second part of the night and reduces the phase of deep sleep, which is the most restorative.

The Sequence of Gestures That Signal Rest

Here we arrive at the heart of the question. A bedtime ritual is not a single action; it is a sequence, repeated in the same order, which becomes for the brain a signal as clear as a bell. One possible sequence, to adapt to the own life, is this:

1. Forty minutes before: close the computer, put the telephone in another room or in mode aeroplane. The blue light and the notifications maintain the cortex in a state of vigilance.
2. Thirty minutes before: a warm shower or a warm bath. When one exits from the warm water, the body disperses heat rapidly and the internal temperature drops. This drop is exactly the signal that the brain interprets as “it is time to sleep.”
3. Twenty minutes before: a light activity of stretching for the neck, the shoulders, the lower back. Not sport, not effort. Only slow movements that release the muscular tension accumulated in the day.
4. Ten minutes before: a breathing exercise. One inhales for four counts, one retains for four, one exhales for six. This rhythm activates the parasympathetic system, that is the branch of the nervous system that governs the rest and the digestion.
5. In the bed: if one reads, a few pages of a book of paper, not of a screen. And then, lights out.

The important thing is not the perfection of the sequence. The important thing is the repetition. After ten, fifteen evenings, the body begins to anticipate the relaxation already at the first gesture.

How the Circulation Supports the Deep Phases of Sleep

There is an aspect of the nocturnal recovery of which one speaks little, and that concerns the vascular system. During the deep sleep, the blood pressure lowers, the vessels dilate, and the tissues receive a greater supply of oxygen and nutrients. It is in these hours that the muscles repair, that the inflammation diminishes, that the brain eliminates the waste substances accumulated during the day.

If the circulation is sluggish, if the vessels are rigid or under tone, this nocturnal work of maintenance becomes less efficient. The person wakes up with the legs heavy, with a sense of general fatigue, even if the hours of sleep were sufficient in number.

For this reason, in my experience of advising persons on their evening habits, I often suggest to take care also of the vascular wellbeing as part of the routine. Some readers find useful to support the tone of the vessels with natural integrators, for example with a product like Cardiobalance, which is formulated with extracts aimed at sustaining the elasticity and the functionality of the circulatory system. Who wishes to understand better the composition and the modality of use can find the information on cardiobalance.biz. I mention this not as a solution magical, but as one tassello of a more wide mosaic: the circulation is an ally of the sleep, and to take care of it is a gesture of respect toward the own body.

Naturally, every integrator should be assumed in the context of a sane alimentation and, in case of pathologies, under the indication of the own physician.

Small Errors That Destroy the Quality of Rest

I conclude with a list of behaviours that seem innocent but that sabotage the evening ritual:

• To look at the clock during the night. If one wakes up at three and sees the hour, the brain makes immediately the calculation of how little sleep remains. This generates anxiety and impedes to fall asleep again. Better to turn the clock toward the wall.
• To use the bed for working or for watching series. The brain must associate the bed only with the sleep. If one works in the bed, this association is lost.
• To make intense sport after the eight in the evening. The sport raises the temperature and the adrenaline. It is excellent in the morning or in the afternoon, but too near to the bedtime it becomes a stimulant.
• To think that one must “recover” the sleep of the previous nights. This thought creates a pressure that is the enemy of the relaxation. One evening of bad sleep does not damage the organism. It is the chronic pattern that counts.

A Final Word

The rest is not a luxury and it is not a loss of time. It is the moment in which the body does the most important work of maintenance. To prepare this moment with attention, with small gestures repeated with constancy, is perhaps the single most effective investment that one can make for the own energy of the following day.

One does not need to change everything in one evening. It is sufficient to choose one or two of the suggestions written here, to practise them for two weeks, and then to add another. The body learns slowly, but it learns. And when it understands that the evening is a safe, calm, predictable descent, it gives back a sleep that is truly restorative.