With New Year comes a fresh start, so gift yourself a mindful bedtime routine with Rituals and make it a habit you'll love to keep.
Creating a mindful bedtime routine that soothes and eases you to sleep, is the simplest yet most powerful gift you can give yourself. For the time-poor, it can be just 5 minutes, with a longer routine at weekends. We've selected our favourite Rituals products to ease you into the perfect wind-down...
Mindful: conscious or aware of something, focusing one's awareness on the present moment, especially as part of a therapeutic or meditative technique
Mindful Bedtime Routine: Setting The Mood
The routine begins with cleansing your skin: by making it part of the routine it stops being a chore and becomes a moment of quiet time. Before you begin, switch off your phone, put on your bedroom lighting and fragrance your room. This could be by lighting a Rituals candle or by spritzing your bed with a Rituals bed and body mist. Safe to spray on all textiles (or your skin), these mists will infuse your room with soothing, uplifting and revitalising scents. Choose a spray that works for you and give it a special place. If you have a singing bowl or Tingsha, place it alongside the scent so it's truly part of your bedtime ritual.
Mindful Bedtime Routine: Cleansing
Now your room is prepared, take some quiet time to gently cleanse. Massage your face in soft, circular motions and rinse with warm water. Now select your favourite serum or face oil; add a few drops to your hands to warm (don't forget to inhale if your product contains aromatherapy oils) and with eyes closed apply it to the face. Circle around your eyes in a figure eight and over the temples to finish. Finally, apply your night cream - for an extra treat, apply with a face brush - and you're done. At the weekend, extend your ritual with a long, soothing bath, and be sure to include an exfoliating scrub for a luxurious, clean feel.
Mindful Bedtime Routine: Extra Relaxation
If time allows, or after a particularly stressful day, take a few minutes to do some easy, bedtime yoga. This lovely routine by Rituals takes just 7 minutes and eases you into a good night's sleep. Suitable for beginners to experts, all you need is a space to lie down and a scarf if you find stretching a little tricky.
We hope we've inspired you with our bedtime routine. Feel free to customise it to your needs by adding in extra treats such as luxurious body lotion. And try not to switch on the phone - a few pages of your favourite book will ease you beautifully to sleep, with a cup of Lemon Balm tea. Please don't forget to extinguish lit candles before you sleep!
