The Chamomile Tea On My Evening Routine

Here's how to set yourself up for a good night's rest which lead to better mornings.

When I was a blogger coming up on the scene, I undoubtedly subscribed to the #grinddontstop, #sleepwhenIdie crew. Looking back, many of us coming up in the industry wore a lack of sleep and overworking as a badge of honor. There was no such thing as Self-care Sundays and Wellness Wednesdays, and conversations around mental health were far and few in-between. It wasn’t until some of my mentors, industry peers, and people I looked up to started passing from health-related issues that I realized how toxic the lifestyle was.

I wanted out.

Nowadays, my physical, mental, and emotional stability is driven by a really good morning and evening routine. I’ll get into my morning routine another time, but since we are entering a New Year, and most of us are committed to establishing better daily habits, I wanted to take a moment to give the evening routine it’s overdue flowers. It’s underrated.

A good evening routine helps you to unwind from the day, relax, destress, and prepare for a productive tomorrow.

It’s a perfect grand closer.

I love to treat my evening routine like the turn-down service at fancy hotels. Have you ever came back to your room late at night and the lights were dim, soft music was playing and the bed made with the linens peeled back and ready to be slept in?

I try to create the same atmosphere in my bedroom. An hour or two before it’s time for bed, I do the following:

• Dim the lights

• Put lavender essential oil in a diffuser (lavender oil helps for a better night’s sleep)

  

  My little diffuser that could. Aromatherapy has been a game changer for me.

• Play some soft music or soothing sounds. I also like the calm app for relaxing beach and nature sounds. Or another option is a wood-crackling candle (the sound of these also help me be productive during the day).

  *** My friend Christina Rice, Founder of Omnoire, has been raving about an alarm clock that puts you to sleep with the sounds of waves and wakes you up with a gentle sunrise simulation light and the sounds of waves.

• Journal. I like to record my final thoughts as well as gratitude and wins for the day.

• A shower or relaxing bath

  ***After chatting with a friend today who was raving about it, I’ve just added a hanging Eucalyptus from Trader Joes to my evening shower to create a zen-like vibe in my bathroom.

It’s supposed to have many health benefits, including healing properties, helps clear congestion for a better night’s sleep, and is a huge destresser. My friend Cheryl says it makes her want to take 3 showers a day because of the smell and how she feels afterward, so we will see how it goes.

Also, I have a rule: No phone in the bed. It prevents hours of endless scrolling on social media or checking emails. Instead, I set my phone across the room, and I try to read a few chapters of a book right before I go to sleep so that it’s the last thing that enters my subconscious. I want a clear head when I wake up, not remnants of the previous night’s social media browsing lingering.

Bonus: Since I’ve been lifting again, I take a ZMA supplement before bed (Zinc, Magnesium, and B6). It helps with getting a good, uninterrupted night of sleep as well as muscle repair but my dreams are VIVID!

---

Currently browsing:

My friend Kenji Summers recently did a blog on how he has progressed from 3-minute meditations to be able to meditate for 3 hours. Wow!

Taraji P. Henson has been very open with her mental health struggles and she recently launched a new series titled Peace of Mind with Taraji on Facebook Watch. Gabrielle Union was a recent guest and opened up about her PTSD, and Tamar Braxton was on discussing her recent suicide attempt.

---

Currently reading:

The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear & Take Life To The Next Level

---

Currently listening to:

---

Talk to me:

This is a special self-care Sunday edition of the newsletter. If you like this post, please don’t forget to like, or share! I’ll only send this self-care edition occasionally.

For those who have been following me for a while, especially as a personal blogger, I am interested in what you want to see more of in the newsletter as well as how often would you like to receive it. Once a week? Twice a week? Please comment and let me know!

I recently tweeted that I’d be blogging about my IRS back taxes. I feel as though some of the past mistakes I made during my celeb blogging days would help a ton of upcoming influencers, content creators, and entrepreneurs and it’s a subject that isn’t touched on enough.

That’ll be coming soon.

Enjoy the last week of 2020!