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Everyone’s obsessed with morning routines. Wake up at 5am. Cold plunge. Green juice. Manifestation journal.

Cool, but here’s what I actually care about: sleep.

Not just any sleep—quality sleep.

The kind that lets your gut heal, your hormones regulate, and your brain actually process the day.

Because after years of healing SIBO and IBS, I learned something critical: you can eat all the right foods and take all the supplements, but if you’re not sleeping well, your gut won’t fully heal.

So while other people are optimizing their 6am routines, I’ve spent years perfecting what happens between 5pm and 5-6:00am.

And honestly? It’s made more difference than any morning habit ever did.

My Optimal Nighttime Routine: Why I’m More Passionate About Sleep Than Morning Rituals

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When It All Starts: 5pm

My nighttime routine officially begins at 5pm.

Not because I’m some wellness robot, but because I have three kids who need predictable bedtime routines, and I’ve learned the hard way that their sleep directly impacts mine.

Besides that, it truly does start at 5pm.

By 9-10pm, I’m in bed.

Which means I’m getting a solid 8 hours before my 5-6:00am [natural] wake-up.

8 – 9 hours isn’t negotiable for me anymore.

When I was in the thick of gut healing, I’d sometimes get by on 5-6 hours and wonder why I felt like garbage.

Turns out your gut lining repairs itself during deep sleep. Who knew? [Everyone. Everyone knew. I just wasn’t listening.]

The Step-by-Step Breakdown

5-6pm – Dinner + Blue Light Blockers

We always eat dinner between 5-6pm.

This wasn’t always for the sake of my nighttime routine, but instead that my kids are 9, 10, and 12 and they are ready for dinner then.

Over time, I started to realize just how beneficial eating earlier was:

1. I have plenty of time to let it all digest before laying down, and
2. I can give my digestive system a longer time to fast overnight (because yes, after dinner I don’t eat again until the next day) [I’ve outlined this all HERE]

This is also the time frame when I’ll put my blue light blockers on for the evening.

Now, I have been talking about blue light blockers for years on this website.

A couple months ago I started to wonder, “Are my $17 blue light blockers from Amazon the same as the pricier ones?”

So I got a pair of super high quality ones from RA Optics [thanks to several Insta DM recommendations!].

And I’m here to tell you that NO — blue light blocking glasses are not all the same.

You want to really block that blue light for the night time because blue light from screens and overhead lights tells your brain it’s daytime.

Your melatonin production tanks.

Your circadian rhythm gets confused.

And your gut? It needs that melatonin signal to do its overnight repair work.

So I put on the RA Optics Sunset lenses, and continue about my night.

6-7:30pm – Me and the Kids

From 6 – 7:30pm we are doing a lot of different things.

And honestly, during this time is when the bulk of the nighttime routine is completed.

Here are the things I do during this time every single night (or most!):

1. Overhead lights in our bedroom go off – warm lights only then
2. IF I’m not planning to have a warm (chocolately) beverage just before bed (see below), then I will do my dental routine:
   • Brush teeth (I like the Lumineux Teeth Whitening Toothpaste + the Wellnesse toothpaste)
   • Floss
   • Teeth whitening strips (Currently using the Lumineux ones)
3. This is when I’ll do my Herbal Face Food (HFF) skincare routine. I’m not going to lie and say it’s elaborate—it’s cleanser, serum, cream. But it’s intentional. It’s a ritual that says “the day is ending.” Wash face with The Soap, and then come full circle with:
   • The Cure X or The Serum
   • The Cream
   • The Eye Cream

During this time, I also help my kids prepare for their optimal sleep:

1. PJ’s
2. Skincare (the girls are loving face wash and moisturizer)
3. Teeth

Between 7 – 8pm we ALL do the ‘Gut Health-Sleep Stack.’

[They are usually closer to 7pm, and I am closer to 8pm]…..because this is about 30 minutes before bed:

• 2 x Move Now Magnesium (specifically magnesium glycinate, which supports both sleep and gut motility) [this is just me, not the kids]
• Sleep Breakthrough (a sleep supplement I’ve been using that combines multiple forms of magnesium with other sleep-supporting nutrients)
  • My favorite is the Blue Berry Dreams, and
  • The kid’s favorite is Tropical Dreams

I don’t take these right before bed because I’ve found that giving them 30 minutes to start working makes a huge difference.

My body starts naturally relaxing instead of me lying in bed waiting to feel tired.

My favorite nighttime essentials

7:30pm – Kids’ Bedtime Begins

The goal is to have all kids sleeping by 8/8:30pm.

My girls love putting on a face mask for optimal sleep (a frog-theme one for my 12-year old and unicorn for the 9-year old!), and my son has to have a fan on.

The two older ones like a diffuser as well.

We read books, and they are out!

Once the Kids are in Bed

Now that the kids are in bed and sleeping, I finish my evening routine:

1. Close up any projects that are open
2. Make any ‘to-do’ notes for the following day
3. If the kitchen cleanup isn’t finished, do that [usually it is right after dinner]

And then, I start my final wind down.

8-10pm: The Final Wind Down

Here are the things I do during this time to ensure I fall asleep fast, and get the best sleep possible:

1. Turn on my diffuser, which is always diffusing either lavender or chamomile.
2. 10-minutes with my Lumebox. In a fascinating study on 20 female basketball players, researchers found that using red light therapy (658nm wavelength) for 30 minutes before bed for two weeks resulted in:
   • Improved sleep quality (measured by Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index)
   • Higher melatonin levels
   • 13% improvement in athletic performance
3. Put in my mouth guard. I clench my jaw at night [thanks, SIBO-era stress that apparently never fully left], and wearing a guard has reduced my morning jaw pain significantly. Bonus: less jaw tension means less stress signals to your gut.
4. Get in bed. We have an Avocado mattress. We switched to this organic, non-toxic mattress several years ago. While I do love it, I think we are in the market for something new (since it’s been so long). I’m currently looking for something with similar quality; non-toxic, no off-gassing chemicals, just natural. I’ll keep you posted!
5. Cocoon. Yes, this is actually part of the nighttime ritual. I have several blankets, and I wedge myself about them to make a cocoon. It’s cozy. Nothing fancy, just something that signals to my nervous system that we’re transitioning.

Here are a couple other things I do weekly, just not every single night:

1. Make a cup of MUD\WTR’s evening blend [Rest] during this time if I’m craving something warm. It’s caffeine-free and has ingredients like turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger that are actually gut-supportive. [If you don’t like the “coffee” flavor, their Matcha is also perfect for the nighttime routine.]
2. Use a sleep app. I love the Moshi app for both me and the kids. My husband also has a very zen-like one. These go on from time-to-time, and truthfully? I should use them each night because they are so effective.

Lights Out

Most nights, I fall asleep within 10-15 minutes. My mind does not race during this time. I’m just set for bed.

However, due to the lasting effects of the adrenal fatigue, I will wake up sometimes between 1-3am.

If my mind starts racing then, I simply turn on a calming app, and fall back asleep.

5-6:00am – Wake Up

I wake up naturally around 5-6:00am most days.

No alarm needed.

That’s what happens when your circadian rhythm is actually working the way it should.

And here’s the thing: I wake up feeling rested.

Not perfect every single day [I’m human], but genuinely restored.

My gut feels calm. The energy is there. My mood is stable.

Why This Routine Actually Matters for Gut Health

Look, I could tell you about sleep hygiene and circadian rhythms in academic terms.

But here’s what I know from lived experience:

When I don’t sleep well, my gut doesn’t work well. My motility slows down. I’m more bloated, and far hungrier than normal.

I’m more reactive to foods that normally don’t bother me.

My anxiety is higher, which makes my gut symptoms worse, which makes my anxiety worse.

[You see and know the cycle. And if you want to check out my personal sleep study, you can HERE.]

Quality sleep is when your gut barrier repairs itself.

It’s when your microbiome rebalances.

It’s when your vagus nerve gets to actually rest and regulate.

All the supplements and restrictive diets in the world won’t overcome consistent sleep deprivation.

I learned this the hard way, through years of trying everything except prioritizing sleep.

What I Don’t Do (That Everyone Says You Should)

No meditation.

I’ve tried. I’m not good at it. It stresses me out more than it calms me down. But this is something I do think is beneficial for morning and during the day.

No elaborate journaling routine.

Sometimes I jot down tomorrow’s to-do list if my brain is spinning, but I’m not doing gratitude prompts or manifestation work at night. Again, I save this for morning and during the day.

I don’t have a cup of tea next to my bed.

Listen, I know all the benefits of tea, but I just can’t get myself to love it. That’s why I do the MUD\WTR or straight warm milk or hot water with lemon instead.

No cold showers or ice baths before bed.

That’s a morning thing for some people, but it would wire me up, not calm me down. I do NOT think the shock of cold is right for everyone, despite what the Internet tells you. For the record, I also typically do not shower at night.

There is no setting of an alarm.

I simply don’t need it. The ONLY time I would is if I had to be up between 4-5am for something specific (like catching a flight).

And this one might shock you, but I also don’t say ABSOLUTELY NOT to screens.

I have a brain game I like to play on my phone, and Netflix to binge. But I ALWAYS have the RA Optics glasses on, and both the brain game + Netflix will put me to sleep within 30 minutes.

There is no reading of physical books because this is how I trapped myself into never reading.

I’m so tired by the time I lay down that I would only get to read 1-5 pages. Instead, I read A TON (via Audible – and no that’s not cheating!!) throughout the day.

The Bottom Line

Your nighttime routine doesn’t have to look like mine.

But if you’re dealing with gut issues and you’re not prioritizing sleep, you’re missing a massive piece of the healing puzzle.

Start with one thing: pick a consistent bedtime and stick to it for two weeks.

Then add something else. And then another thing. Build it slowly.

Because here’s what I wish someone had told me years ago: you can’t supplement or restrict your way out of sleep deprivation.

Your gut needs rest to heal. And so do you.

Sweet dreams [literally].

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Honeybee Lavender Steamer (Caffeine-Free + Kid-Approved)
2. Sleep Tracker Bullet Journal Printable
3. The Lumebox: Your Gut and Hormones Are About to Thank You
   

Xox,
SKH

Affiliate disclosure: Some products and links in this post are affiliates. When you purchase anything from my affiliate partners, you will save a hefty amount and I make a small commission. This is part of my business that helps keep this website afloat for me to bring you the information for free. And I’m so grateful for you.