Settle Down – Night-Time Relaxation Tips

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, it’s a great time to get cosy and spend more time relaxing at home.  Maintaining a healthy sleeping pattern is also crucial if you want to keep stress away and protect your mental and physical well-being in these darker months.

Mental Exercises for Sleep 

With recent events and feelings of uncertainty experienced by many of us right now, it can be difficult to completely relax and getting to sleep can be a real struggle. So, we’ve put together some tips on how to relax before bed.

Our minds AND bodies need to be prepared as part of our bedtime relaxation techniques.
We all have things that play on our mind and worries that can sometimes take over. So, you may be wondering how to sleep when stressed and anxious. It’s important to remember that getting mentally ready for bed, is as important as changing into your sleep attire.


• Try to avoid screens, phones and laptops and any other electronic stimuli just before bedtime.
• Practice mental exercises for sleep like Mindfulness – this simply means paying more attention to the present moment – your own thoughts and feelings and the world around you.

Here are some simple tips on how to use mindfulness to help you relax before bedtime:

1. Take a seat. Find a place to sit that feels calm and quiet to you.
2. Set a time limit. If you're just beginning, it can help to choose a short time, such as 5 or 10 minutes.
3. Notice your body.
4. Feel your breath.
5. Notice when your mind has wandered.
6. Be kind to your wandering mind.

Getting Physically Ready for Sleep

Sometimes, the transition from day or outdoor wear to sleep and loungewear can have a huge impact on night time relaxation techniques. We all feel more relaxed when we’re comfortable, which can mean just slipping your feet into your favourite slippers or changing into less restrictive clothing.

Your physical night time relaxation techniques can also involve having a warm soothing bath or lighting some candles with your favourite scent. Dimming the lights can be just as effective too and can help you transition into the darkness before you turn the lights off completely and go to sleep.

Breathing techniques have long been recognised as a great way to help relax your mind and body.  They can help you to wind down before bed when stressed and help reduce sleep anxiety.

The NHS recommends using breathing techniques as part of your daily routine. You can do it standing up, sitting in a chair that supports your back, or lying on a bed or yoga mat on the floor. Here’s how to do it:

• Let your breath flow as deep down into your belly as is comfortable, without forcing it.
• Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• Breathe in gently and regularly. Some people find it helpful to count steadily from 1 to 5. You may not be able to reach 5 at first.
• Then let it flow out gently, counting from 1 to 5 again, if you find this helpful.
• Keep doing this for at least 5 minutes.

If this doesn’t work, give the military breathing technique a go instead.

The military sleep hack, also known as the military method, was invented during WWII. Generals and other commanders were concerned at the time about the tiredness and stress that a lack of sleep was producing in their troops. Using the expertise of the time, a new strategy combining physical and mental relaxation was developed.

This approach is thought to induce sleep in around 90 seconds. Try it out by following these easy steps:

1. Relax your face.
2. Release tension from your shoulders.
3. Drop your hands to your sides.
4. Relax your chest while exhaling.
5. Ensure your legs, thighs and calves are relaxed.
6. Clear your mind for 10 seconds.
7. Repeat the words ‘don’t think’ for 10 seconds.

 The Ultimate Outfit for Comfort and Calm

Find your ultimate comfort outfit helping you transition from day to night to bed. For this, we find a blanket hoodie does wonders. Our Esme and Harper Sherpa fleece hoodies are a great way to get cosy when you get home. Slip them on over your clothes or just wear them on their own or with your PJ’s.

Then slip your feet into slippers with memory foam inner soles and the softest faux fur, or slide your toes into the luxury of real sheepskin. We’ve got slippers for everyone!

Cosy Up and Relax with Bedroom Athletics

No matter what kind of relaxation fit you’re after, we’ll have it. Browse our wide range of stylish, warm and comfy slippers and loungewear today. Whatever you choose, one thing is for certain – a cosy, relaxing sleep.