2 Sleep Experts Told Me *This* Is One of the Worst Things You Can Do Before Bed

Show me a person who wakes up feeling refreshed every morning and I’ll show you a liar the luckiest person in the world. We’ve pretty much all experienced sleep troubles from time to time (some of us more often than others), and while I can’t give you a magical cure to middle-of-the-night wake-ups or daytime fatigue, I can tap into PureWow’s network of experts to provide you with tips and tricks that can certainly help. Which leads me to a bad sleep habit that not one, but two sleep experts agree is sabotaging your good night’s sleep: not having a proper bedtime routine. Here’s the deal.

• Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell, MD, CCSH, is a board-certified pediatrician and sleep specialist. Dr. Holliday-Bell received her bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, her master's degree in biotechnology from Rush University and her medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also has a certification in clinical sleep health from the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists. Having previously suffered from insomnia herself, she understands the transformative power of good quality sleep and also works with the wellness brand NEOM Organics.
• Dr. Shelby Harris, PsyD., is the director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, a website dedicated to disseminating comprehensive sleep-industry information. A licensed clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine, she treats a wide variety of sleep disorders, including insomnia, nightmares and narcolepsy, with a focus on non-pharmacological interventions. She is board-certified in behavioral sleep medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the author of The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia: Get a Good Night’s Sleep Without Relying on Medication.

I know what you’re thinking: Aren’t bedtime routines for little kids who need baths and story time and the like? Not so, per the pros. Dr. Holliday-Bell tells me, “Regularly engaging in a relaxing and soothing bedtime routine is essential to help you unwind from the stress of the day and fall asleep.”

This relaxation time can look however you want it to (more on that later), with one caveat: Your phone (or tablet or computer) should not be involved. “I always make time for at least ten to 20 minutes minimum to wind down without screens,” Harris tells us, while Dr. Holliday-Bell echoes, “Electronics emit mostly the blue wavelength of light, which is the wavelength that has the strongest alerting influence on your circadian rhythm,” referring to the processes that help you fall asleep and night and wake up in the morning.

OK, got it, not having nighttime routine is a surefire way to wake up grumpy and exhausted. But how does one go about creating such a routine? It’s actually pretty simple—here are three easy ways to get started. 

1. Replace Your Pre-Bed Instagram Scroll with Something More Soothing

Listen, I get it: It’s super tempting to scroll through Instagram and other social media feeds while in bed, but experts and studies agree that removing your phone from the bedroom is essential. That’s not to say your bedroom can only be used for sleeping—instead of Doomscrolling (or IG stalking), try reading, journaling or even meditation (or Beditations, a collection of guided nighttime meditations by doula Latham Thomas). No you won’t be able to keep up with the latest Taylor/Travis news via reading or mediating, but once you realize how big a difference leaving your phone in another room makes, I’m willing to be you won’t mind waiting to hear that the NFL tight end called Prince William “the coolest motherf*****” until morning.

2. Invest in Bedding (and PJs) You Love

You know how you’re way more likely to get excited about exercising if you have gear that you feel great it; sleep isn’t that different. Rather than tossing on your old sorority T-shirt and getting into sheets that you’ve had since you were in said sorority, invest in bedtime accessories that will make you excited about winding down. I’m talking the bedding set that Associate Editor Sydney Meister—who reviews bedding for a living—swears by, the coziest pajamas on the market and an eye mask you love (here are three I personally highly recommend as a self-proclaimed eye mask connoisseur).

3. Stretch It Out

As Kim Strother, a celebrity trainer and yoga instructor, explained to PureWow’s Executive Managing Editor Catrina Yohay back in 2020, “A nighttime stretching practice allows your body to release built-up tension and provides [you with] an opportunity to integrate mindful breathing. By creating a peaceful mind and a relaxed body, you’ll find the ability to both fall asleep with greater ease and remain in a longer, deeper sleep.” Here are nine stretches to do before you slip under the covers.

4. Start Your Nighttime Routine at the Same Time Every Day

The final piece of the puzzle, once you’ve outfitted yourself and your bed in the comfiest materials, stretched and left your phone in the other room, is sticking to this routine every night at the same time (within reason, of course). Yes, it’s tempting to go to sleep late on Friday night and “make up” for it by sleeping in on Saturday, but varying your sleep times can be harmful to your restfulness. Try to work toward waking up and getting out of bed at the same time every day—regardless of when you have work—to get your sleep and wake times on track. Andrew Varga, M.D., a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, told PureWow a few years ago, “Much of it is about personal limit-setting, recognizing the environmental factors and personal habits that have the capacity to disrupt one’s sleep schedule, and trying to minimize the variance in daily sleep onset and offset time, particularly between weekend and weekday times.”