Self-Care Night Checklist – Wellness Ideas and Routines
If you really want to look after your physical and mental health then you really need to find time in your life for self-care. Self-care habits and routines are a great way of helping you to stay happy and content. So we have created a self-care night checklist for you to use to help you look after your well-being and lower your stress levels.
Whilst self-care can be done at any time of the day creating an evening routine is a sensible approach for those of you who need to unwind after a busy day. When you work it can be difficult to find any time for yourself during the day but when you get home it is the perfect time for you to indulge in activities that make you happy. Our self-care night checklist can help you find ways of spending time that involve less stress and create feelings of happiness.
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What Should you Do On a Self-Care Night?
Before going into more details about our self-care ideas it is worth noting that our checklist can be used in two different ways.
Firstly there are some people who would like a regular daily self-care routine to follow. Daily self-care means that you are determined to find time out in your day to prioritise your needs. The time you take for daily self-care could be short or if you have the ability to last the whole evening.
Others may not have the ability to follow a daily self-care routine due to commitments, children or life in general. In this case, self-care activities are still important but perhaps they can only be done once a week or even once a month.
Our self-care night checklist can be used by you for a daily routine or just used on an ad-hoc basis when you have the time. The key is that on your self-care night you need to find activities that either relax you, help your mental health and well-being or that are fun and make you happy.
Creating a Self-Care Night Routine
For those of you that want a regular self-care routine at night then it makes sense to first work out how much time you have to spend on the activities that you want to do. Do you have the luxury of being able to spend your entire evening doing things that make you happy or content or are you constrained for time?
The self-care checklist is a tool to help you with ideas and suggestions for ways to spend your time that will help with your well-being. Whilst in theory you could follow everything on the list that isn’t necessary. Firstly because some of the suggestions we have given may not interest you and secondly because you may simply not have the time to accomplish everything on the list.
Feel free to pick and choose what self-care ideas work for you and fit them to your timetable and tastes. The most important step is doing things consistently.
When we repeat stress reduction techniques and work on our happiness day after day it is going to have a cumulative impact. One-off self-care of course can still be useful but creating a consistent routine is likely to create more dividends.
Self-Care Night Ideas
If you are lucky enough to have an entire evening at your disposal then our self-care checklist could be accomplished in its entirety.
A self-care night is generally more comprehensive than a self-care nighttime routine as it is dedicated solely to your health and well-being.
The key to a great self-care night is planning it so that you have everything available at your disposal to make it a night where you focus entirely on yourself.
That said there is no reason why you can’t invite friends to experience a self-care night with you. Providing you all have the same interests and ideas about relaxation and stress reduction should be a great way of involving your friends in your mental health goals.
Checklist Of Items For An Evening of Well-Being and Wellness
So what exactly do we have on our self-care night checklist? Well, each of the self-care ideas that we have chosen are designed to help you look after your mental and physical health. In addition to improving your well-being, they are also activities that should make you happy or content.
Our self-care night checklist is a to-do list with a difference. It shouldn’t feel be something that you dread doing or that feels like a chore. Instead, the self-care ideas and experiences should give you a positive experience that you would be happy to repeat again and again. Here are some of our favorite easy self-care ideas that you can use at home.
Take Some Exercise
The first item on our self-care night checklist is to take some exercise. Exercise is great for your mental health and a great way to stay fit and healthy.
The type of exercise you could take will obviously depend on your interests, the time of year and the time of the evening you take it. Early evening is ok for vigorous exercise such as running or going to the gym. As the evening progresses it makes more sense to practice some gentle exercise such as yoga to help you relax and unwind before bed.
In the summertime, walking is great as it gets you out in nature and into the evening sunlight where you can catch some rays. This is especially helpful if you have spent all day cooped up in an office.
Listen to Calming Music
If you want to unwind and relax after a long day then listening to soothing music is a great way of helping you to relax.
Whilst all of your favorite music may be pleasurable to listen to you are going to be a great benefit if you choose to listen to something tranquil as it will help you in the wind-down period before bed.
Chillout Lounge has a great CD that you can listen to to help you destress or alternatively put on some classical music to help change the atmosphere.
Light a Candle
A great way of changing the mood in your home is by lighting a candle to create a warmer and cosier atmosphere to relax in. If the candle has a calming fragrance that is even better.
There is something about a candle that changes the ambience in a room to one of tranquillity and calm. Plus there are candles out there to suit every budget. Indulge yourself and sit down and relax and watch the candle flame for a while and switch off.
We love Bath and Body Works Candles as they are inexpensive but can give off a heavenly scent.
Use a Diffuser
Whilst a candle is lovely to look at most diffusers blend into the background gently giving off a lovely scent that can fill a room.
Our self-care night checklist mentions diffusers because we know how powerful smells can be at transforming your mood. Most diffusers allow you to choose what essential oils to put in them. If you are using on in the evening it makes sense to choose a calming oil like lavender in order to help you wind down after a long day.
Vitruvi ceramic diffusers are perfect for most rooms as they are stylish and run for up to 8 hours at a time.
Cooking Dinner
The next item on our self-care checklist is an essential part of any evening and that is food. Everyone needs to eat but of course, because we are talking about self-care activities it is important that what you choose to cook is something that is going to benefit you.
Too many people come home after a busy day and eat junk because it is easy but of course, that isn’t healthy. For your daily self-care try and make your evening meal something that is filling, nutritious and healthy rather than relying on fast food to keep you going.
Changing the way you eat doesn’t have to be difficult. Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients- Quick and Easy Food is the perfect cookbook to help you to make better choices that don’t take ages to cook.
Taking a Bubble Bath
Another must for any nighttime self-care checklist is taking a long and relaxing bath. Warm baths are a great way of relaxing your muscles and soothing stress after a long day. They are also a great way of spending time relaxing and doing nothing which is perfect if you want to unwind.
Choose a bubble bath or oil that can help you to destress. Kneipp Dream Away Bath Oil is a great product if you are having a bath just before bed.
Feel free to combine taking a bath with other self-care activities such as exfoliating and moisturising your body or painting your nails.
Your body will always thank you after a bath as the relaxation in your body and mind will make it much easier to for you to have a good nights sleep later that evening.
Wearing Comfy Pajamas
Another item for your self-care checklist is to wear something that makes you comfortable in the evening. Coming home and changing into a comfy pair of pajamas instantly makes you feel more relaxed.
In makes sense to choose appropriate pajamas for the time of year. Long-sleeved, fleecy and warm pajamas for the winter and cool, silky or breathable short sleeves and shorts for the summertime.
Write a Manifestation Journal
Another self-care activity that you might like to try in the evening is writing a journal. This could be a gratitude journal to help you give thanks for everything wonderful that you have in your life or alternatively writing a manifestation journal to change your life.
We particularly love manifestation journals because they can help you to attract into your life new people, careers, money or ideas. What great former of self-care is there than directing your life so that it moves in a positive direction for you to feel happier and more content.
You can read more about the best manifestation journals in our article on the subject and learn how to harness the law of attraction to make your life better.
Listen to a Podcast
Podcasts have become really big over the past few years which is why they had to feature on our self-care tips list. There is a podcast for just about everything out there but when we are talking about self-care then it makes sense to listen to one that focuses either on your health and well-being or that is fun and makes you happy.
The point is to spend time listening to something that makes you feel positive or that helps you with taking care of yourself. Pick a podcast that suits what you want whether it be exercise, healthy living or mindfulness and then spend time listening to it on a regular basis to help you make the changes you want.
Read a Book
Another classic on our self-care checklist is to find time to read a good book in the evening. Reading is a brilliant way to help you forget about the day and allow your mind to become immersed in another world.
Reading a book is a form of escapism unless it is educational. If you want to switch off and relax it makes sense to choose a book that has nothing to do with study or work.
Check out the latest bestseller lists on Amazon for the very latest popular books. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is a great choice at the moment if you want to feel uplifted.
Practice Self-Hypnosis for Self-Care
We couldn’t mention a self-care checklist without at least mentioning self-hypnosis once. Self-hypnosis at its most basic is the perfect way to switch off a busy brain and relax. If you want to take things a little further you can use self-hypnosis to change old unhelpful subconscious thought patterns.
We have a large range of self-hypnosis downloads that are perfect for an evening of self-care. If you just want to relax and destress then our relaxation guided meditation is a great place to start.
Stay Off Social Media
The next item is great to put in your daily self-care routine and that is staying off social media in the evenings where possible. Social media can cause anxiety and stress especially if the people that you follow make you feel inadequate or jealous. Social media apps like Facebook can also take too much of your attention especially if you look at them multiple times a day.
Start to limit your social media and if you can’t stop using it at night at least turn off your mobile devices an hour or so before bedtime so that you can get a good nights sleep.
Watching Your Favorite TV Show
If you lead a busy life and don’t get much time to yourself then some of the simplest things can make good self-care. Why not sit down and relax whilst watching your favorite show on TV as a way of unwinding.
Don’t think that self-care involves always doing something worthy. Watching a TV show can be just as helpful for getting you to relax as something that has a positive intention.
Sign up to Amazon Prime for example and you get access to a whole host of great shows and films to keep you entertained as well as get free delivery on your purchases.
Do a Brain Dump
Just before you go to bed don’t forget to add a brain dump to your self-care checklist. A brain dump is a great way of getting what is whirling around in your head onto paper so that it doesn’t bother you when you are trying to sleep.
Get into the habit of doing a brain dump an hour before bed and organising all the things that are in your mind so that you can tackle them the following day.
Use our brain dump worksheet printables to help.
Go to Bed Early
Finally, the last item on our self-care night checklist is if you are tired after a long day then go to bed early to catch up on some well-needed sleep. There is no need to feel guilty about getting the occasional early night especially if you are tired and need to relax after a long week. Just don’t make a habit of it every night as if you aren’t tired it can mess up your nighttime sleep routine.
If you find that you suffer from insomnia or find it really difficult to switch off just use our guided mediation for sleep audio to help you relax and drift off.
More Ways to Practice Self-Care
5 Minute Self-Care Tips and Ideas
Using a Self-Care Coach to Help your Well-Being
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