Washing the dishes
Doing the dishes by hand after dinner as a fixed, screen-free end to the day
Ten or twenty minutes at the sink after the evening meal, done by hand rather than handed to the machine. The task is simple enough to leave the mind alone and physical enough to keep it off a phone, which is why some people use it as a wind-down before reading and bed. It also gives the day a clear closing point. No equipment, no cost, and the kitchen is clean in the morning.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Bill GatesDoes it
Microsoft co-founder · Gates Notes reading lists
He does the dishes every night. He said so in a 2014 Reddit AMA. Business Insider paired that chore with his hour of bedtime reading, calling the two the fixed pieces of his evening.
Source: Entrepreneur: Why Bill Gates Washes the Dishes and Reads for an Hour to Get a Good Night's Sleep“I do the dishes every night”
Entrepreneur: Why Bill Gates Washes the Dishes and Reads for an Hour to Get a Good Night's Sleep (opens in a new tab) · 10 Dec 2021
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress or sleep.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Warm bath or shower before bed
Warm water an hour or two before sleep drops core temperature after
Backed by 3 of 44 stacks: 2 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - 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
Backed by 1 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 0 recommend it, 0 have discussed it - Protocol$$$Mid: Roughly $50 to $500, or up to $50/month.
Sauna
Regular heat exposure, often 4 sessions a week at 20 minutes
Backed by 16 of 44 stacks: 10 do it, 3 recommend it, 3 have discussed it - Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Magnesium (threonate or glycinate)
Taken 30-60 minutes before bed to help with sleep onset
Backed by 11 of 44 stacks: 8 do it, 1 recommend it, 2 have discussed it - ProtocolFREE, no cost
Breathwork
Structured breathing sessions to shift the nervous system up or down
Backed by 6 of 44 stacks: 3 do it, 2 recommend it, 1 have discussed it - Supplement$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Ashwagandha
Adaptogen used short-term to lower cortisol during stressful stretches
Backed by 2 of 44 stacks: 1 do it, 1 recommend it, 0 have 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.