How to wind down for sleep? 9 good bedtime habits, plus nutrients and products to explore

Looking for ways to wind down at night? There are plenty of them. This article shares nine habits for a calmer bedtime, along with notes on nutrients often associated with rest and a few pieces you might like to keep beside the bed, so you can see how food and everyday objects shape the quality of your evenings. If you want your nights to feel more settled, start here.

1. Nine good habits for a calmer bedtime

Life moves quickly. Work, family roles and a constant stream of information fill the day, and most of us never schedule a quiet moment to let things settle. By the time the lights go out, the mind is still turning things over and it is hard to put the day down.

So Aqive has gathered nine habits that are easy to fit into an ordinary day. We would also suggest setting aside five to ten minutes somewhere in a full schedule for a simple sitting meditation, paired with something that helps you mark the moment, and letting your thoughts drift down like a feather.

Habit 1: Build a sense of safety

If a restless or unsettled feeling often keeps you awake, holding a cushion, a soft toy or the duvet as you lie down is a simple way to let your body soften and settle.

Habit 2: Read before bed

Pick a book with a slow rhythm and a subject you do not find especially gripping. Let your eyes wander loosely over the words, and when drowsiness arrives, switch off the lamp.

Habit 3: Put screens away before bed

The blue light from phones and tablets affects the release of melatonin, and video that demands thought or music that is loud and busy keeps the brain working when it would rather slow down. In the last stretch of the evening, put the phone away and skip anything too stimulating on screen, so your mind has room to prepare for sleep.

Habit 4: Skip caffeine and alcohol after 3 pm

The paper Caffeine and Human Function — Friend or Foe? notes that caffeine lifts alertness, and alcohol works in a broadly similar way, so either one taken close to bedtime can leave you wide awake. To give your body time to process them before you turn in, it is worth avoiding both after 3 pm.

Habit 5: Keep a sleep journal

Set aside 15 minutes before bed and write by hand, keeping it to a simple list: what is on your mind, and what you plan to do about it. Note the outstanding tasks at work or the coursework you have not finished, then write that you will handle A first thing tomorrow and B after lunch. Putting the plan on paper takes some of the weight off unfinished business, and the evening gets quieter.

Habit 6: Ease off drinks before bed

Too much liquid late in the evening tends to mean a trip to the bathroom in the small hours, which breaks the night in two. Try to stop drinking water and other beverages 30 minutes before you turn in.

Habit 7: Make the room comfortable

A room that is too warm, too cold or too noisy keeps the body from fully letting go. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature, choose bedding and nightwear that feel easy against the skin, and bring the indoor lighting down, so your body reads the signal that the day is over. If a neighbor's noise sometimes cuts into your night, earplugs are a simple way to shut the outside out.

Habit 8: Meditation and sitting meditation

If the day's pressures pile up and your mind starts turning over everything at once, a spell of meditation and sitting meditation before bed is a good way to let your mood settle and set the day's tension down.

Beyond that, the mindfulness at the heart of sitting meditation builds your awareness. As thoughts surface, you watch yourself wander off, and in watching you come to know yourself and learn to sit peacefully alongside your feelings. Over time it also encourages deeper breathing, and softens the strain that a tense mood can put on the people around you.

Habit 9: Press a few acupressure points

Before bed you can press the Hegu and Shenmen points and the pericardium area to help settle your mind for the night. Using comfortable pressure, work the web of the thumb, the hollow of the wrist on the little-finger side, and the center of the palm, until the point feels slightly full and tender.

2. Eating for rest: nutrients you can get from everyday food

Alongside the habits above, your daily diet can supply the nutrients usually associated with restful sleep. Just avoid eating a heavy meal in the two to three hours before bed, or digestion will keep you up rather than settle you down.

1. Tryptophan: tryptophan prompts the body to produce melatonin, and it plays a part in a restful night. You will find it in wholewheat products, soybeans, bananas, drinking yogurt and milk; most protein-rich foods contain some.
2. Melatonin: melatonin is the hormone that governs the body clock, and it is normally released in quantity at night, as you settle into sleep. Foods that contain it include apples, eggs, dairy, barley, spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, bananas, cherries and nuts.
3. Omega-3 fatty acids: a paper from the US National Institutes of Health reports that omega-3 fatty acids support cardiovascular function, which in turn plays its part at bedtime. Chia seeds, salmon, saury and other oily fish are all rich in omega-3.
4. Vitamin D: vitamin D helps maintain normal nerve and muscle function, which has a part to play at the end of the day too. As well as spending time in the sun so your body makes its own, you can eat dairy, beans, eggs and mushrooms.
5. Calcium, magnesium and iron: calcium supports the normal contraction of muscle and heart and the responsiveness of nerves; magnesium supports normal heart, muscle and nerve function; iron helps carry oxygen. All three play their part in a restful night. Day to day, sesame, dark leafy greens, sea vegetables, liver and lean meat are good sources.
6. Herbal tea: beyond the nutrients above, a modest cup of herbal tea is a pleasant way to let body and mind unwind. Research described in The Science of Aroma notes that the scent of lavender has a relaxing quality, and a warm herbal tea can help loosen a tense mood. Try a little caffeine-free lavender, chamomile or passionflower tea about an hour before bed.

3. Beyond food: things to keep beside the bed

Alongside food and evening habits, a few well-chosen objects can turn winding down into a ritual. Essential oils paired with acupressure, for instance, let a favorite scent take the edge off a tense mood. We would also suggest bringing Aqive's everyday energy tools into your meditation and sitting meditation, as a way to set the tone of the space around you, so you can quiet body and mind, come back to yourself, and let the evening slow down.

4. Aqive picks for a settled evening

That is our tour of winding down for the night. If you would like a few pieces to help set a restful mood at bedtime, here is what we make.

Aqive was founded by Prof. Si-Chen Lee, former President of National Taiwan University, together with Dr. Hsiung-Kuang Tsai, Bruce Liao, Yves Lin and Bill Koh. It is one of the first brands to bring torsion field research into everyday products, exploring the open questions of body, mind and spirit with an open, accepting and sustainable outlook, grounding its work in scientific theory and offering considered guidance to anyone looking for a steadier state.

Drawing on Prof. Si-Chen Lee's theoretical research, Aqive builds everyday energy tools for ordinary life, pieces that many users describe as helping them relax and feel steadier within. Four of them stand out:

Qi Ease Vita: Qi Ease Vita is built around torsion field technology, using a distinctive coil design to generate a torsion field, with a 369 Hz frequency added to set a calm, unhurried tone. It gives your personal space a quality many people find settling, which is welcome when your days run busy and full.

Qi Ease Vita is light, easy to carry and easy to look after. Clip it to a bag or wear it around your neck; set it on your desk or beside the bed, where users describe it as clearing the air of the room and quieting the chatter in their heads. Its clean, simple form looks good in any interior too. It suits office workers, travelers, and anyone setting up a personal space at home.

Qi Box: Qi Box brings together the energy of clear quartz with sacred words such as Buddha and Guanyin, set inside the box so that qi resonates within it, and a copper plate carries that resonance to the skin. Many users describe a sense of qi moving through them, a feeling of the space clearing and the mood easing, and say it leaves them freer to enjoy the day. Cup it in your palm, or rest it on an acupressure point and notice what you feel, alongside sitting meditation.

Qiramid: Aqive brings together the structure of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, sacred words and crystal energy to shift and clear the atmosphere of a room. It suits people whose days run under pressure, and those of a sensitive nature, set in a bedroom or a studio to keep the feel of the space steady and hold a mood that invites you to relax.

Qi Wristband: inside the Qi Wristband sits an amethyst qi plate, with sacred words arranged in a particular structure, and a built-in microcurrent circuit board that interacts with the body's own microcurrents. Wearers often describe feeling steadier and finding it easier to hold their attention in one place.

The Qi Wristband is about the size of an ordinary watch, so it is easy to keep with you, and it needs no power of any kind to wear. Following the idea that the body's qi field flows out on the left and in on the right, wearing it on the left wrist is described as settling body and mind, while the right protects your field. Switch between them as you prefer.