MY NIGHTLY "WIND DOWN" ROUTINE...

My absolute favorite time of the day is night time - specifically the hour or so before bed. The day is over, dinner has been made and eaten, the kitchen has been cleaned, and preparations for the next day have been made. All there is left to do is relax and wind down! Love it. I am a very routine person, so establishing and sticking to a routine every night pretty much ensures a good night of sleep for me - and does for most people I think. I typically do these six things (all before 10PM on a good day!), which may seem like a lot, but self-care is everything to me these days. Here goes... 

1. The first thing I do is stretch myself out. I turn on a show on my DVR that I need to catch up on and then use this Magic Circle to stretch out my legs and hips. They have become incredibly tight from sitting at a desk all day for years. Sometimes I'll do a short series of Pilates (the 100, roll-ups, a side-kick series, etc. ) if what I'm watching on TV is worth the extra time and effort... :)

2. The next thing I do is step into my empty bathtub and brush my skin! Dry brushing has become a bit of a craze over the past few years and it's a craze that I'm totally with. It eliminates dead skin and stimulates the body's lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a network of organs and tissues that rid the body of toxins, which makes dry brushing a super important thing for me to do given my autoimmune disease. Brushing the skin does sort of waken the body, so it almost makes more sense to do this in the morning. But I prefer more time to sleep in the morning to dry brushing, so I do it at night (I use this $6 brush). The next thing I do calms my body back down... 

3. I take a shower every morning and I take a shower every single night. That may be crazy to some, but I like to feel fresh before my day starts and I like to be free of the dirt of the day when the day ends. That's just how I roll. Showers relax me at night have have become a signal for my body to wind down. I know that because I don't sleep well on the rare times that I don't shower before bed. 

Anyway, my nightly shower is where I do the majority of my skin care regimen. My skin gets oiler and dirtier in the summers, so I use my Clarisonic two nights a week to get a good deep clean. If you don't have a Clarisonic yet, get one - like today or tomorrow. Clearer, softer skin and smaller pores are just a purchase away. Its been a game changer for me and most people I know who have one. Clarisonics don't exfoliate the skin, so I exfoliate a few nights a week using this pore scrub. I use this cleanser the other nights of the week and when I use my Clarisonic. I then moisturize with this night cream. 

And yes. All of my facial products come from the same line and can be found at your local drugstore, Target, or on Amazon. No offense to anyone, but I just can't be bothered right now with trying different types of cleansers, oils, masks, toners, and moisturizers that come from tons of different places. My face tends to dislike change, so I stick to what my face likes and this line along with the occasional good-quality facial, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, getting good sleep, and drinking lots of water is working well for me right now. I'll add things in if things start to change! I still use the products in this post in the mornings... 

4. I've mentioned this soap a few times here on the blog and I feel like it's worth mentioning again. I use the Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap in the mornings and at night. It's organic and all natural and has been a game changer for my skin. The peppermint scent is actually very calming for me, but lots of people I know use the lavender scent- particularly at night. It's just good stuff and can do TONS of things other than clean your skin... 

5. After my shower I crawl in bed and do my evening devotion. This is honestly something I just started doing consistently a few months ago. I downloaded this daily devotional book (LOVE it). I read it for the current day - and sometimes it's so good that I read the next day's too! I study the scriptures that are in each devotion and then I make my gratitude list for the day in my journal. I just write down 5 or so little things I'm thankful for that day. Doing all of this makes me appreciate that particular day no matter what it was like and it makes me look forward to the next day - no matter what I'm facing.

6. The last thing I do before bed is meditate. I wrote a full post on here on my routine. I do a 5 or 10 minute "deep sleep" guided meditation that often makes me fall asleep in a matter of minutes. I HIGHLY recommend sleep meditations if you have trouble sleeping. It works so well. I hear this sleep podcast works wonders, too...

Do you guys adhere to a nighttime routine????