How To Create An Evening Routine: Best Things To Do After 5 PM
It’s simple: better evenings, better mornings.
Whether you’re a busy corporate woman, a freelancer, self- employed, or a stay-at-home mom, implementing a structured evening routine can make a world of difference in how you wind down and prepare for a restful night’s sleep.
There’s no doubt that routines are amazing for living a life you actually love. Our bodies actually crave routines because they provide a sense of security.
Indeed, when you have certain habits or rituals you follow at specific times every day, you create a lifestyle that feels almost automatic. And contrary to popular belief, building habits and routines is far from boring. It is how you build your self-control and create a life that is practically on “easy mode.”
I am a sucker for a good routine, whether morning or evening, because I want to make my life as easy as possible. If I can do most of my daily tasks without thinking too much about it, then sign me up.
Yes, I know after a busy day the idea of starting yet another routine might seem daunting, but trust me, it’s not. It’s, in fact, the best way to separate your work life and personal time.
Besides, having a routine ensures you have a good list of things to do after 5 pm rather than spending hours on end doomscrolling.
Welcome to our guide on creating the perfect evening routine for self-care, better sleep, relaxation, and mindfulness.
Here’s a list of healthy evening routine ideas you’ll love.
Why Do You Actually Need an Evening Routine?
A consistent evening routine can make a really big difference in your sleep quality and overall well-being.
Indeed, by establishing a routine for your evenings, you create a structured, predictable environment that signals to your body and mind that it’s time to wind down and prepare for sleep. Basically, it helps regulate your body’s internal clock.
Besides helping you sleep better, an evening routine enables you to establish healthy daily habits that promote relaxation and reduce stress. This improves your overall life quality.
And this simple signal actively influences how fast you fall asleep and how well you sleep, not to mention how you wake up in the morning.
Healthy Evening Routine Ideas
1. Move Your Body
When the clock strikes 5 pm, I log off work and either head to the gym or do a quick workout at home. If you’re commuting from work, you can head straight to the gym.
Yes, study after study shows that the benefits of exercising extend beyond just better physical health. Working out is also good for your mental health.
I typically do strength training at the gym 3 times a week, and the rest of the day is just simple cardio or a yoga flow.
You can do cardio, strength training, yoga, or even Pilates. The idea is to move your body. You can even simply just take a walk.
Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise every evening.
2. Take a Shower or a Bath
You just had a long day at work or at home with the kids, and you’ve had your evening workout; a shower is exactly what you need to officially kick off your relaxing evening routine.
It’s, in fact, one of the best things you can do in the evenings if your goal is relaxation and better sleep.
I mean, a shower washes away more than just the daily “dirt”; it is soothing enough to just turn your brain off for a minute.
Make it a complete experience with a soothing body wash and products suited to your skin type.
If you’re feeling up to it, make it a bath and take your time soaking while reading or drinking a glass of wine, or better yet, a cup of tea.
I read a lot of fantasy romance books, and reading for a little while in the bathtub is one of my favorite things to do in the evening.
After the shower, take your time to do your evening skincare routine, maybe a retinol or exfoliating lotion for your body and retinol or tretinoin for your face.
I am currently on the azelaic acid, tretinoin routine, and I am absolutely loving my skin. I use 0.05% tretinoin 3-4 nights a week, and on the other nights I use azelaic acid.
3. Have A Good Dinner
The idea is to make your breakfast heavy and filling, but keep dinner on the lighter side if you want to sleep well.
If you can avoid takeout and make a simple, balanced, nutritious meal full of protein, healthy carbs, and healthy fats.
And don’t have dinner for the sake of dinner; make it mindful eating, sit at the dining table with family, and eat together.
I have yet to start a family, so I typically watch an episode of a sitcom to make dinnertime a little more fun.
4. Self-Care Ritual
It’s understandable that after a long day at work, school, or with kids, a quick workout and dinner might leave your brain struggling to let go of all the stresses that come with the day.
After dinner is the best time to start a simple self-care ritual, actually, to prep for sleep.
The goal of an evening self-care ritual is to help you enjoy a brief “mental detox” that separates the day from the night.
And you don’t need to complicate it. It could be just about anything that brings you immediate relaxation.
For me, after doing dinner, I typically curl up on the couch with a cup of chamomile tea, my journal, a pack of affirmation cards, or a book. It just depends on what I am in the mood for.
Admittedly, most evenings I curl up with a good romantasy, but unfortunately this can really suck me in and mess up my entire evening. It’s easy for me to find myself engrossed in a good book and sleep later than I would typically prefer.
So sometimes it’s about going for something relaxing but not so interesting that it takes up my entire evening.
The idea is you don’t have to complicate it. You could water your plants, call family and friends for a long chat, or even gratitude journal.
5. Prep for the Next Day
I started this blog by noting that better evenings make for better mornings, and that prepping for the next day is part of why an evening routine can completely transform your mornings.
Spend a few minutes prepping for the next day. I mean, select an outfit and lay out your clothes for the next day. Pack your bag and organize your stuff there.
You can also create a to-do list for the next day so you can have a mental note of all the important tasks you need to take care of tomorrow. Just creating this to-do list will have you waking up with more purpose because you know exactly what you need to do to have a fulfilling day.
6. One Last Digital Check- In Before Completely Unplugging
Screens, including phones, laptops, and TVs, are arguably the biggest sleep killers of our generation. Blue light from screens interferes with your body’s natural wind-down system, unfortunately keeping you up later and messing with your sleep schedule.
No matter how dependent you are on your devices for work, social media, or connecting with friends, you need to put them away 30-60 minutes before bedtime.
So, do one last digital check-in to make sure you’re not missing anything urgent. Respond to important late-night emails, text back your friends or family, reply to that reel in your dm, then completely unplug.
Please avoid getting sucked into doomscrolling. That’s how you find yourself scrolling TikTok late into the night.
7. Have A Relaxing Bedtime
You’ve done quite a bit this evening, and you’re probably tempted to just slip into bed and doze off or scroll on TikTok. But I promise there’s a better way to handle your bedtime.
Spend a few minutes making a few tweaks here and there to improve how fast you fall asleep and how well you sleep throughout the night.
Smooth out creases in your bed, make sure your room is cool (around 60 to 67), draw blackout curtains and turn on warm lights if you need to, move your sleep mask closer to your pillow, turn on your humidifier, etc.
Basically, the idea is to spend a few minutes creating the ideal sleep environment.
This is the best time to grab some chamomile tea and read in bed. And like I said, go for books that aren’t particularly exciting to avoid getting sucked in and staying up late into the night reading.
These simple bedtime habits will help signal to your brain that it’s time to get ready for a good night’s sleep.
8. Finish Up with a Mindful Activity
This could be a few minutes of meditation, a gentle yoga flow, gratitude journaling, or a brain dump.
A simple mindful activity will help calm your mind and release lingering tension and stress from the day, making it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Final Thoughts On Creating the Ideal Evening Routine
Whether you’re a night owl looking to make the most of your evenings/ nights or an early sleeper looking for ways to transition from day to night quickly, these evening habits will help you create an ideal evening routine that will work with just about any lifestyle.
Don’t hesitate to skip the habits that simply don’t work for you. And yes, add more depending on your lifestyle. The goal is to create an evening routine you love and, most importantly, one that works with your current lifestyle so you can actually stick to it long-term.
