There are nights when you go to bed late, pass a wet wipe over your face and fall asleep face down in your pillow. And there are nights when you spend an hour double cleansing, apply 34 layers of moisturiser to every centimetre of skin and drift off to whale song (just us?).
But what if your routine could be efficient and effective? These are the easy swaps that will transform your pre-bed admin and set you up for the morning after.
Switch to superpowered skincare
At night, your body enters a type of hibernation that allows it to repair itself. Skin becomes more permeable, making it (helpfully) more responsive to topical skincare products, but (less helpfully) more susceptible to water loss. So, this is the time to use richer, more hydrating creams. Try an antioxidant-rich serum followed by a night moisturiser – look for formulas packed with vitamin C to aid the regeneration process, peptides to boost elasticity and hyaluronic acid for deep hydration.
Replace regular flossing with a water flosser
Waterpik Cordless Plus Water Flosser, £54.99 Shop
Brushing alone can only reach around 60% of the tooth’s surface, so flossing is essential for cleaning between the teeth and around the gums, helping to prevent the build-up of plaque. If food stays on the teeth, bacteria will accumulate overnight and feed off it while you sleep, making flossing before bed particularly key.
But if regular flossing feels like a faff, you worry you aren’t doing it right, or you have a brace that makes it tricky, we recommend trying the Waterpik water flosser. It uses a targeted stream of pulsating water to clean away food particles, removing up to 99.9% of plaque from treated areas*. It’s also up to 50% more effective than string floss for improving gum health**. Better still, all it takes is 60 seconds before bed.
Ditch ‘one more episode’ for a set bedtime
If you’re in the habit of changing up your bedtime from one night to the next – and Netflix has passive-aggressively asked you if you’re still watching more times than you care to remember – you’re playing havoc with your circadian rhythm (AKA your body’s internal clock). The key to a great night’s rest is keeping a regular sleep-wake schedule across the whole week. This regulates your internal clock and your body will start to recognise when to wind down to sleep and when to wake up.
Change to herbal drinks after 2pm
Many of us try to avoid caffeine in the evening, but if you’re still drinking cups of tea or coffee in the afternoon, it could be affecting your sleep quality. It depends on how quickly you metabolise caffeine, but if you struggle to get to sleep, it’s a good idea to cut it out from 2pm onwards. Switch your usual black or green tea for a herbal infusion. Chamomile, valerian root, lavender, lemon balm, peppermint and passionflower are all caffeine-free options.
Stop scrolling and write your to-do list
It’s way too easy to pick up your phone in bed and, 56 TikTok dances later, find that it’s 3am and you need to be on a Zoom call in about six hours. Instead of endless scrolling, spend a few minutes before bed writing out your to-do list for the following day. It helps you sleep by getting any anxieties or niggles out of your head before you turn the light out.
Trade your phone for an alarm clock
How many of us actually follow the advice to leave our phones outside the bedroom, especially if we’re using them for our morning alarm? If you want to banish the blue light, an old-school clock means you no longer have to keep your mobile right beside the bed. It also means you won’t start your day by reaching for your phone either – so no losing yourself down an Instagram hole before breakfast.
The Waterpik water flosser cleans areas brushing misses, giving healthier gums, brighter teeth and fresher breath in just a minute a day
*Gorur A, Lyle DM, Schaudinn C, Costerton JW. Compend Contin Ed Dent 2009; 30 (Suppl 1):1 - 6.
**Barnes CM, et al. J Clin Dent, 2005; 16(3): 71-77. Study conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Dentistry, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Alison is head of content for the Good Housekeeping Institute, responsible for product reviews across homes, beauty, wellness, family and food & drink. She lives by the William Morris quote that you should “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Alison has over 15 years' experience as a lifestyle editor and has written features on everything from misophonia to how to dress like Claudia on The Traitors. She has also interviewed everyone from Dame Joanna Lumley to the Kardashians.
In her spare time, you'll find her hanging out with Monty the cocker spaniel and refreshing the Sezane website every five seconds.
