My Sleep Habits & Wind-Down Routine

Rituals for my best sleep and one piece of advice sleep experts wouldn’t approve of...

One thing you should know about me is that I’m an imperfect wellness girly through and through.

What this means for me is that having the perfect wellness routine is not my ultimate goal. I’m going to pick and choose the healthy habits that fit into my life, my schedule, my goals, etc. (and also do what actually works for ME and not just what’s trending in the industry). My ethos of “effortless recipes for a full life” also applies to sleep—we’ll call it “realistic rituals for true rest”.

Now that I’ve set the stage, let’s talk about the imperfect sleep habits that have me knocking 90s consistently on my Oura ring. (If that means nothing to you, just know that a sleep score on the Oura ring is out of 100 and a 90+ is considered “optimal”).

While I have always been aware that sleep is important, it wasn’t something I was shooting for an A+ in consistently… That was until I started to understand the effect sleep has on far more than just the fatigue we feel throughout the day, which I thought I could “power through”.

We often treat sleep like something we can “catch up on later,” but research tells a different story. Sleep impacts literally everything—cognitive function, immune health, metabolism, emotional resilience, what foods we crave, how our bodies store fat, hormone balance, etc. But you don’t need a sermon, you know this.

What really got me locked in on my sleep habits was learning (in addition to the above) that our bodies don’t absorb nutrients as well when we are sleep deprived (so you mean I could be eating all this healthy food and not getting the full benefit?!) and our skin ages much quicker when we aren’t sleeping enough because proper sleep slows the effects of aging and rebuilds collagen. Say less!

So let’s get into the routines and habits that ensure I’m getting good zzzz’s.

My Wind-Down Routine (7 PM - 9 PM)

🌙 Dinner & DND Mode

I eat my last meal around 6:00 PM, which gives my body 3 hours to digest before bed. There’s research suggesting that eating too close to bedtime can disrupt deep sleep and impact blood sugar overnight. I just find I fall asleep quicker when I don’t eat too close to bedtime.

At this point, my phone goes on Do Not Disturb (if it isn’t already—sorry to people who try to call me because my phone has a residency in DND mode 🙃).

🛁 Shower, Skincare & Pajamas

At 7 PM, my wind-down routine officially starts. I shower, do my skincare (posting my full routine to YouTube soon so stay tuned), and change into my cozies (currently loving these pajamas, but these are also a fave). This might sound small, but touching on all the senses—warm water, soft fabrics, red lights (we’ll get into that)—creates a sensory cue that it’s time to relax.

🩷 Lymphatic Drainage

One of my favorite nighttime rituals is wearing my Normatec compression leg therapy pants for 45 minutes. You’ve probably seen athletes use these for muscle recovery, but I love them for boosting circulation and lymphatic drainage—it’s like a lymphatic massage for my legs every night.

Kyle got these for me for Christmas and I actually think they are my favorite gift he’s ever given me. Wait, lemme do a quick inventory of other gifts…Okay final decision: second favorite ever.

📺 A “Bad” Habit That Works Wonders For Me

This is where sleep experts might cringe, but I swear it helps my brain unwind and actually get into chill mode: we watch an episode of TV every night.

For the first half, I’m usually still working—planning for the next day, editing, scheduling content—but by the second half, I’m zoned in on whatever we’re watching, which rarely has a storyline I need to follow too closely. This one sacred episode of TV is one of the only things that truly takes me out of “work mode” and quiets my mind before bed. I can literally feel my brain start to get all squishy and tired.

“What are you watching?” You ask. Nothing with commercials that is for SURE. Is there anything less relaxing than your TV suddenly blasting you with an unnecessarily high volume ad for insurance?? We watch a lot of Survivor reruns and we love a good sports documentary (Untold, Full Swing, Break Point).

💊 Sleep Supplements

I take magnesium glycinate or magnesium L-threonate every night before bed, both of which support relaxation.

(Something to note: I see a lot of magnesium supplements that market themselves as a sleep aid that are formulated with magnesium citrate, the more affordable type of magnesium that primarily helps ease constipation and has little effect on sleep. A *very* popular brand reached out to me recently to partner on their magnesium sleep aid, which only contained magnesium citrate…and I politely declined. Just a word of advice if you are interested in taking magnesium for sleep support—make sure it’s not just formulated with citrate)!

🛏️ The Bedroom Setup

• Red light bulbs in the bedroom – Because red light is the least disruptive color to your sleep cycle.

• Hatch alarm clock – Plays rain sounds as white noise and wakes me up with the dreamiest music.

• No phone in bed – Once I’m in the room, I set my alarm, put my phone on airplane mode, and I enter no-phone-zone.

• Kindle on dark mode – If I’m awake, I read instead of scrolling. Currently reading this.

• Dark room – We make our room as dark as possible. We don’t have blackout curtains but that would be a dream.

• Mattress and Pillows – I have been ruined for other mattresses and pillows ever since we bought our Naturepedic. I should also mention that in this season of life I am obsessed with my maternity pillow and I could see myself sleeping with this forever.

👄 Mouth Taping for Better Sleep

I’ve been mouth taping for over a year, and it’s made a huge difference in my sleep quality. This is what I use—nothing fancy.

Mouth breathing at night has been linked to poor oxygenation, increased cortisol, lower-quality sleep, and poor oral hygiene (mouth taping was actually recommended to me by my functional dentist). Using mouth tape encourages nasal breathing, which supports better oxygen flow and deeper rest.

🙏 Nighttime Prayers & Gratitude

Right before bed, I take a moment for prayer and gratitude—reflecting on the day and shifting my mindset to thankfulness. No matter what has happened that day, I find that this completely shifts my perspective.

And before we turn out the lights, Kyle and I tell each other “I love you”—every night, without fail. There’s something deeply comforting about saying it and hearing it. A final moment of peace before sleep.

What Works for You?

I’d love to hear about your own wind-down routine and sleep habits!

• What’s one thing that really helps you sleep better?

• Do you have any “bad” habits that actually work for you?

Leave a comment and let me know—I always love learning from you. 💛

xo,

Olivia

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Recipes You May Have Missed:

• Top Left: Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Vanilla Cake with Raspberry Filling

• Top Right: Braised Ginger Chicken Thighs and Broccoli

• Bottom Left: Anti-Inflammatory Turmeric Chicken Stew

• Bottom Right: Protein Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars