The Benefits of Routines

Written by Ayesha Cobb, Hairstylist at Urban Betty

As we recently learned, good sleep is very important when it comes to hair and overall health. Lack of sleep causes stress and stress causes hair loss as well as other misfortunes. I’ve personally struggled with lack of proper sleep, and the reasons are because of lack of movement throughout the day, drinking too much coffee, dehydration, blue light from electronics, and more.

I’ve been exploring ways to get good sleep, and what helped me a lot was creating a morning and nightly routine. Routines create habits and these habits will eventually create a lifestyle. If you are curious or need suggestions on what to do to get a good night's sleep, here I'll share my personal routines.

1. Morning Routine

Wake Up Earlier Than You Need To

I used to be a morning person, and then a club/bar life happened. Eventually, I developed this “sleep in as much as you can” habit. I would wake up around 10 or 11 AM, having 10 hours of sleep, and start my day. By nighttime, I would be wide awake until 1 or 2 AM with racing thoughts, annoyed that I couldn’t fall asleep.

Well, I had a memory of being in school and being forced to wake up at 6 AM because of morning class activities, and by the time I came home I would be wiped out. Now, I’ve created a habit of waking up at 6 AM everyday, even if I go to sleep late. The longer I stay up during the day, the faster I'll fall asleep at night. But, sometimes it’s still hard to stay awake during the day, which brings me to the rest of my routine.

2. Morning Water

Water is so important, and I know I don't drink enough. I used to make a cup of tea or coffee the very first thing after I wake up in the morning, which is a bit dehydrating. Think about it. We’ve been sleeping for 7-9 hours without drinking anything, and the first thing that we reach for is dehydrating caffeine, that’s crazy.

Now, I drink two cups of water before my cup of sunshine. We are made up of 70% of water after all; it keeps us alive.

3. Morning Exercises/Yoga with Affirmations

I remember being a kid and playing all day outside, and when bedtime rolled around I fell asleep so easily. As I got older, the physical activities slowed down, and I had no reason to feel tired. I would feel lethargic, but not tired.

Adding a morning exercise keeps me awake in the morning and tired at night. Yoga and Pilates are my choice of exercise, but you can do a morning run, CrossFit, dance, weightlifting, or just something to get your heart rate up. After yoga, I play my confidence music and dance around until I’m feeling myself.

4. Morning Facial

After, my morning workout and a nice shower, I do my face routine. We need to take care of our skin, as it is the largest organism we have. My 'must have’ facial products are face wash, toner, mask and moisturizer. I use the mask once a week and OMG the amazingness of putting 'toner' in my routine! I rinse my face with cold water, the shock of the cold gets my blood pumping, and my morning moisturizers have either tea tree or peppermint oil in them. It makes me feel happy, refreshed, and ready for the day.

5. Nighttime Routine

Get Your Body Ready for Bed

After I come home and eat dinner, I get ready for bed by taking a warm shower, brushing my teeth, and putting on PJs. After I'm comfortable, I do bedtime yoga as it relaxes my mind with soft and slow movements; it's my last intentional activity of the day. Then I read, study, or watch a dreamy movie. I only watch calming movies at night because they have more of a bedtime story feel. Nothing scary or action-packed that would keep my mind racing and emotions high. It's better to save calmer things for nighttime.

6. No Blue Light

Blue lights from phones are the worst thing for your eyes before bed. When I start looking at my Instagram at night, I'll scroll for hours and before I know it, it’s 12 AM. Now, I set an alarm an hour before my bedtime for no blue light including TV. So, if I’m watching a movie and my timer goes off, I'll stop the movie, turn on my anti-blue light app, leave my phone alone and only use it for turning off the timers. For the rest of the hour, I'll write in my journal, read a book, or talk to my babe.

7. Meditatation/Affirmation/Prayer

It’s the last 5 to 15 minutes before bedtime and this is just enough time to meditate, say affirmations, or pray. I feel that doing one of these things helps me connect with how I feel, or connects me with myself. It definitely takes practice; starting slowly like at 5 minutes before bed and progressing from there. It calms the mind and body making it easier to fall sleep.

There we have it, the things I do to help me sleep at night. I hope this helps you as much as it does me. Always give the mind good habits. If you fall off of a routine, it’s ok, you can always start again, and if it doesn't work try something else. Find things that work for you. Remember that it’s a leveling up journey; keep aiming for better and find peace in the process. Best wishes.