If you’ve found yourself sticking religiously to an evening routine: no screens after 8pm, a mug of herbal tea, a lavender diffuser gently puffing away beside your bed… you’re not alone.
It makes sense. When sleep goes off track, we naturally look for something we can control. We Google. We make lists. We try wind-down routines with military precision. It gives us a sense of doing something.
But here’s the part no one tells you: there’s no evidence that an evening routine can improve long-term insomnia.
Sure, winding down is helpful to make us feel more relaxed. We don’t want to go from work emails straight into bed – your brain needs some time to transition. But beyond that, these evening rituals don’t touch the core issue for people struggling with insomnia night after night.
The reason? Long-term sleep problems aren’t about what you did that evening.
Insomnia is a result of many different factors which have gone awry, leading to a sleep problem which is perpetuated over time. This includes a dysfunctional sleep pattern your brain has learnt, a diminished sleep drive, hypersensitivity, sleep anxiety, “half-sleep”… and more. Unfortunately, no amount of lavender oil or bedtime meditation is going to undo that pattern.
What’s more, these routines can actually increase your anxiety around sleep. When you start believing that sleep depends on ticking off the same list every night, the pressure builds. You start to panic if you miss one step. Your routine becomes a ritual. And then… you’re not winding down anymore. You’re trying to control something that isn’t meant to be controlled that way. You begin living your life around sleep – letting it control you, rather than the other way around.
The truth is, one small action at night, however well-intentioned, isn’t going to reset a long-term sleep issue. That’s the job of a complete, evidence-based approach like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which helps retrain your brain to sleep healthily again.
If your current routine isn’t helping, and maybe it’s even making you feel worse, it’s okay to let it go. Sleep doesn’t come from micromanaging your evenings. It comes from restoring a healthy, natural sleep system.
So tonight, instead of checking off a to-do list for sleep, ask yourself: what would actually help me feel content? A warm bath? A bit of telly? A laugh with someone you love?
That might do more good than another meditation app ever could.
Such good advice .. Sadly I dont know the answer for my sleep problem. I did ACT . Have taken sleep medication for too long and need to taper the dose .. ..clonazepam. Thanks for your advice though
Hi Linda. Tapering off medication after long-term use can certainly feel like a big challenge. It’s important to do this with medical guidance from your doctor of course, but alongside that there are well-evidenced behavioural approaches that can improve and support your sleep and help you rebuild confidence in your natural ability to rest. If you’d like to give it a try, we’re here to help.