Warm bath or shower before bed
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
Hot water in the evening pulls blood to the skin, and the resulting heat loss drops core body temperature afterwards, which is exactly the signal sleep onset needs. The counterintuitive part is that you get colder as a result of getting hot. Timing is usually cited at one to two hours before bed.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Jennifer AnistonDoes it
Actor · Friends and The Morning Show
Loves an Epsom salt bath as a post-workout recovery tool, she told Bustle, for drawing out lactic acid, in the same breath as the infrared sauna. That is recovery rather than a sleep ritual, so the fit with a bath before bed is loose.
Source: Bustle: Jennifer Aniston Completely Swears By This Low-Impact Workout - Mel RobbinsDoes it
Author and podcaster · The Let Them Theory
Turns the bath on at the start of her wind-down, tidies the kitchen while it fills, then soaks. Asked what her five minutes for herself looks like, her answer is a bath, every time.
Source: The Mel Robbins Podcast: 5 Night Habits to Boost Focus & Energy - Matthew WalkerRecommends
Sleep scientist · author of Why We Sleep
Recommends a hot bath or shower before bed, because the heat loss afterwards drops core temperature and speeds sleep onset.
Source: The Tim Ferriss Show #650 transcript
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under sleep or stress.
- HabitFREE, no cost
No phone calls after 10 p.m.
A hard stop on calls and conversations late in the evening so the brain can wind down
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Reading philosophy before bed
Ending the day on a page or two of philosophy, then thinking it over before sleep
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Washing the dishes
Doing the dishes by hand after dinner as a fixed, screen-free end to the day
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Sauna
Regular heat exposure, often 4 sessions a week at 20 minutes
On record from 17 of 62 tracked people: 11 do it, 3 recommend it, 3 have discussed it - Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)
Taken 30-60 minutes before bed to help with sleep onset
On record from 11 of 62 tracked people: 8 do it, 1 recommends it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Breathwork
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
On record from 7 of 62 tracked people: 4 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 has discussed it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.