4 Easy Nighttime Habits to Feel Energized & Sleep Better

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  You already have an evening routine, it just may be working against you

  Mel's point is that the 5-to-9 counts as a routine whether you plan it or not: a glass of wine that becomes the bottle, four hours of scrolling, eating at 9, dishes left in the sink. While 9-to-5 drags, the evening disappears. Her test: does what you do at night help you relax, sleep and feel like the person you want to be?

• 02

  What you do at night decides how tomorrow morning goes

  She describes the cycle she lived in for years: a wasted evening leads to midnight guilt and lying awake, then an alarm that feels instant, anxiety on waking, cold greasy dishwater, lost keys and lateness. 'Tomorrow is the new me' only works if you did last night's dishes. Otherwise the new you spends the morning cleaning up the old you's mess.

• 03

  Obvious isn't the same as done

  Mel expects listeners to say they already know they scroll too much, drink too much and should go to bed earlier. Her reply is that common sense isn't so common, and knowing something doesn't mean you're doing it. She also notes the steps take almost no brainpower, which matters because by evening you've already used up your energy on work, school and the day's to-do list.

• 04

  A short, consistent routine helps you fall asleep, according to sleep researchers

  She cites the American Academy of Sleep Medicine: even a 10-minute evening routine helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep, because a steady rhythm works with your circadian rhythm and signals your body that sleep is coming. She also cites Harvard Medical School sleep scientist Dr. Rebecca Robbins, whose research links a consistent bedtime and wake time to better sleep and falling asleep faster.

• 05

  The foundation is picking a bedtime by working backward from an honest wake time

  Mel used to think she could wake at 7 and fit in her bed, exercise, journaling, breakfast, dog walks and kids in 15 minutes. Her daughters call that 'girl math' and her husband Chris calls it 'Mel time.' Most people, she bets, need to wake 30 to 60 minutes earlier than they do. Her real wake time is 5:45 to 6:15.

• 06

  Bedtime means when you get into bed, not when you fall asleep

  Count back eight hours from your wake time to get the time you need to be asleep (6 a.m. means 10 p.m.). Then subtract how long it takes you to drift off. Chris is asleep as his head hits the pillow, while Mel needs 5 to 25 minutes with a book, so her bedtime is 9:15 to 9:30.

• 07

  Step one: flush the day so the morning starts clean

  Her blunt image is a toilet: you flush it so nobody walks into your mess, and you should do the same with the day. In about five minutes, empty the sink, load the dishwasher, take out the trash, wipe the counters, put other people's stuff in piles by the stairs or their door, turn off the lights and charge your computer. Because you're tired, good is good enough.

• 08

  Step two: prep tomorrow to cut decision fatigue

  Another five minutes goes to setting yourself up: workout clothes out, leash by the door, a filled water bottle in front of the coffee maker, vitamins laid out, lunch packed, keys on the counter. Mel ties this to decision fatigue, where each decision makes the next one harder, and to habit research showing that a visible cue makes the habit more likely. You can do it half-asleep, even while texting.

• 09

  Step three: take five minutes for yourself before the TV or your phone gets them

  Out of 1,440 minutes a day, she argues you deserve five at night before screens take them. Use them for a side hustle, a grant application or student-loan forms, or for nothing at all: tea, a book, skincare, quiet. Hers usually falls between 7:45 and 9:15. Those five minutes break the couch-and-scroll habit and often grow to 45 minutes of reading or yoga.

• 10

  Step four: put your phone to bed somewhere other than your bedside

  Mel cites research that bright light suppresses melatonin: one study of kids found melatonin suppressed by 98% after bright light an hour before bed, and about 50% in adults, plus fragmented sleep. She says she can't be trusted with her phone, so it goes in the bathroom before she gets into bed. Notifications, she adds, are a separate problem on top of the light.