Bedtime Routine for Adults: A 60-Minute Wind-Down That Actually Helps You Sleep (UK)

Why a bedtime routine works

Your brain learns from patterns. Do the same quiet things in the same order every night and they become a cue that the day is over. The NHS says going to bed and getting up at similar times each day helps your body know when it’s time to sleep, and that this applies on days off too.

It’s the practical, nightly side of sleep hygiene: the habits are the “what”, the routine is the “when” and “in what order”. Regular evenings also keep your circadian rhythm steady. Start by fixing your wake time, then work back to find your bedtime; our sleep calculator does the maths. Your evening routine for better sleep starts an hour before that.

The 60-minute bedtime routine, step by step

The table assumes lights out at 11pm; shift the times to suit you. The wind-down itself is the last hour.

You don’t need every step. Pick the ones that fit your evening, keep the order the same, and give it two to three weeks before judging it.

The warm drink step

A warm, caffeine-free drink is one of the easiest anchors for a night routine. The NHS suggests a warm milky drink or herbal tea instead of tea or coffee; see our best tea for sleep.

If you want a supplement as part of your routine, our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex is a berry-flavoured powder you stir into water, made with magnesium bisglycinate and citrate, glycine, L-theanine and chamomile. Magnesium contributes to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to normal psychological function. More on forms and timing in magnesium for sleep.

Our Reishi Mushroom Adaptogenic Complex is a reishi hot chocolate made with cacao, so it contains a little natural caffeine. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, have it earlier in the evening, for example after dinner, rather than as your last drink before bed.

Some people also add our Sleep CBD Oil, which pairs broad spectrum CBD with passion flower and a myrcene-led terpene blend, to their evening. CBD isn’t a treatment for sleep problems, and it’s no substitute for the habits in this guide. Read what the research does and doesn’t show in CBD for sleep.

The FSA’s 10mg a day figure is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication.

Our products are for adults only, and we don’t recommend them during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

If you only do three things

Busy evening or a late finish? This short version covers the essentials.

1. Same wake time every day, weekends included. It anchors everything else.
2. Phone out of reach for the last hour. Charge it in another room or across the bedroom and use a basic alarm clock.
3. One calming cue in the same order each night, such as a warm shower, then a few pages of a book with the main light off.

If you tend to stay up late just to get some time to yourself, that’s a pattern with a name: revenge bedtime procrastination. Building some time for yourself into the early evening makes the wind-down easier to stick to.

Routines for shifts, ADHD and insomnia

After a late or night shift

The HSE suggests shift workers follow a routine similar to the one they’d use before a normal night’s sleep: a short walk, a book, music or a hot bath, no caffeine for a few hours beforehand, a light snack rather than a heavy meal, and no alcohol, as it lowers the quality of sleep. Use blackout blinds or an eye mask, and earplugs or white noise for daytime sounds. Keep it to 20 to 30 minutes so you’re not up for hours after getting home. More in shift work and sleep.

With ADHD

Finding it hard to organise your time is one of the signs of ADHD the NHS lists in adults, and that can make “start winding down at 10pm” easy to miss. The NHS advises people with ADHD that a regular bedtime and a quiet, dark bedroom can help, and to avoid screens, caffeine, sugar and alcohol close to bedtime. Practical ideas that make a routine easier to follow:

• Set an alarm for the start of your wind-down, not just for bedtime.
• Keep a short visual checklist by the bed or on the bathroom mirror.
• Make the first step easy and automatic, such as putting your phone on its charger outside the bedroom.
• If you take ADHD medicine and sleep is a problem, talk to your prescriber about timing rather than changing it yourself.

With insomnia

A routine is a good foundation, but if you’ve had trouble sleeping for months, or changing your habits hasn’t helped, the NHS says to see a GP. The first recommended treatment for long-term insomnia is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which helps you change the thoughts and habits that keep you awake. NICE recommends the digital CBT-I programme Sleepio in primary care, and a GP can tell you what’s available locally. Sleeping pills are rarely prescribed, and only for short periods.

Two NHS tips matter even more if you have insomnia: only go to bed when you feel sleepy, and get up at the same time every day, even after a bad night. Read more in our insomnia guide.

Your bedtime routine checklist

Screenshot this or print it and keep it by your bed.

• ☐ Last caffeine at least 6 hours before bed
• ☐ Main meal finished well before bed, not last thing
• ☐ Warm bath or shower 1 to 2 hours before bed (optional)
• ☐ Screens away and main lights off 60 minutes before bed
• ☐ Tomorrow’s to-do list written down
• ☐ Clothes, bag and keys ready for the morning
• ☐ Warm caffeine-free drink
• ☐ 20 to 30 minutes of something calm: book, music, stretching
• ☐ Bedroom cool, dark and quiet; phone on silent and out of reach
• ☐ Lights out at the same time; breathing exercise if needed
• ☐ Alarm set for the same wake time as every other day

Common mistakes

• Lying in bed awake for ages. The NHS says if you’re still awake after about 20 minutes, get up, sit somewhere comfortable and do something calm, then go back to bed when you feel sleepy. See how to fall asleep fast.
• Big weekend lie-ins. The NHS advice is to keep similar bed and wake times even on days you’re not working, so your body clock doesn’t drift.
• A nightcap. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but Drinkaware notes it interrupts the sleep pattern your body needs.
• “Just one more” scroll or episode. Fast, endless content keeps your brain switched on. See doomscrolling.
• Watching the clock. Turn it away from you so you’re not counting the hours.
• Hard exercise late at night. The NHS insomnia advice is no exercise in the 4 hours before bed; if late workouts affect your sleep, move them earlier.
• Making it too complicated. A 12-step routine you skip is worse than three steps you do every night.

Related guides

• If you’re regularly sleeping much more than 9 hours, read is oversleeping bad for you?
• Adding bath flakes? See magnesium flakes for the bath for amounts and timing.
• A scent can become a bedtime cue: see how to use lavender for sleep.
• Thinking of adding the TikTok lettuce drink to your routine? Read does lettuce water work?
• A calm, regular routine is also the first step for preventing night terrors.
• Living with ringing ears? See how to sleep with tinnitus.
• Not sure when to start winding down? Read the best time to sleep for adults.
• For the last step of your wind-down, follow our meditation for sleep script.
• A body scan for sleep is an easy way to finish your wind-down once the lights are off.
• For a light bedtime snack with some research behind it, see kiwi for sleep.
• See also our guide to sleep masks, including how to choose one and keep it clean.
• How to use ASMR as part of your wind-down.
• Slow music can be a calming part of your wind-down: see does music help you sleep?
• Want to give someone a better wind-down? See our sleep gifts guide.
• Cold feet? See is sleeping with socks on good for you?
• For which viral sleep tips are worth adding to your routine, see sleepmaxxing: which trends actually work.
• For what a cup of camomile can and can’t do, read our guide to chamomile tea for sleep.
• A steady routine also makes the clock change easier: see our 5-day plan for when the clocks go back.
• If you like a warm mushroom drink in your wind-down, read what reishi does and does not do first.
• If a foot rub is part of your wind-down, our guide to magnesium spray and lotion on your feet explains what it can and can’t do.
• Want to give someone a better wind-down? Our wellness gifts guide shows how to build a self-care gift box around sleep.
• Our free 24-day wellness advent calendar builds several of these habits into December.
• Some people add CBD drops to their wind-down; see the best CBD oil for sleep in the UK for the checks that matter.
• Pukka Night Time tea: when to drink it and how long to brew it.
• If ashwagandha is part of your evening, read whether to take ashwagandha morning or night.
• A warm, caffeine-free drink can be part of a calm wind-down; our CBD tea guide has a simple chamomile latte.
• A pillow spray can be one cue in a routine; here is how to use This Works Deep Sleep spray and what the research says.
• If you like a foot or leg rub before bed, here’s the truth about magnesium cream and body butter.
• If your wind-down includes a malted drink, see Horlicks before bed: what the evidence says.
• Thinking of adding a weighted blanket to your wind-down? See our weighted blanket guide for what weight to choose.
• If you want a drink in your wind-down, a sleepy girl mocktail is a caffeine-free, alcohol-free option.
• Wondering whether you can get it free? See is Sleepio free on the NHS?
• If you have wondered about melatonin, our guide explains the melatonin UK rules and what you can buy instead.
• If a caffeine-free herbal tea is part of your wind-down, check what’s in it first; our guide to Yogi Bedtime tea is one example.
• Many wind-down basics, such as an eye mask or herbal tea, double as self care stocking fillers.
• If you’d like to add a supplement to your routine, our best herbal sleep aid and supplement guide ranks the options by evidence.
• A steady routine matters most on nights you expect to sleep badly, such as around a full moon.
• A steady routine is also the main way to stop sleep talking.
• If a warm drink is part of your wind-down, read reishi for sleep: timing and dose first.
• If you keep jolting awake just as you drift off, see how to stop hypnic jerks.
• If restless legs interrupt your wind-down, here’s what magnesium cream for restless legs can and can’t do.
• A warm, caffeine-free drink can be an easy cue to wind down; our guide to magnesium drinks for sleep explains what to look for on the label.
• Some people add a foot massage with a magnesium butter; our Sweet Bee magnesium butter page explains what the evidence says.