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Beauty isn’t a word that gets thrown around a lot with men. And while women often have detailed pre-bedtime routines for skin and hair, most men brush their teeth and hop in bed. But what if men need routines, too?

Why You Need a Nightly Routine

If you’ve ever had young kids, you know that a nighttime routine is an absolute must. Without any sort of predictable cadence prior to bedtime, kids are much more likely to resist sleep and have trouble catching Zs. But just because you’re a grown man, doesn’t mean you can skip out on routines. 

Every guy’s routine is going to be unique, but the important thing is that you have one. By creating a predictable set of steps, you’ll be able to:

• Fall asleep faster
• Get better quality sleep
• Wakeup earlier in the morning without hitting the snooze button
• Enhance brain functioning and focus the following day
• Reduce stress

When it’s all said and done, a good routine will enhance both your physical and mental health. So if you haven’t done so already, now is the time to create your nighttime routine and reap the rewards!

6 Tips for the Perfect Nighttime Routine

A good nighttime routine involves a combination of hygiene, skin/hair care, discipline, and mental preparedness. Here are some helpful tips to achieve the right balance:

Take a Shower

Most men take a shower in the morning, but it’s highly recommended that you take one at night, too. This serves a practical, hygienic purpose, but it also helps you mentally relax and unwind.

When showering, use products that are designed to help your skin and hair. If you’re experiencing balding (and who isn’t?) here’s the best DHT blocking shampoo for hair loss. If you have dry skin, this is one of the best body washes for sensitive skin. 

Care for Your Skin

Make it a point to cleanse and exfoliate your face every night. You can do this in the shower or immediately after getting out. Your significant other can probably show you how, or you can watch a tutorial online. But you’ll basically take the cleanser, rub it into your face, use a washcloth to scrub, and then rinse. 

Brush and Floss

Flossing is annoying, but it’s one of the best things you can do for your oral hygiene. It’ll also leave you with fresh breath and that “I just went to the dentist” feeling. If you can’t stand flossing, there are plenty of products – including Waterpiks – that make it easy and painless. 

Empty Your Mind

Nothing inhibits quality of sleep quite like stress. Thus, it’s a good idea to incorporate some sort of de-stressing habit into your nightly routine.

One of the best approaches is to take 10 minutes to empty your mind. Grab a notebook and spend the first five minutes writing down everything that’s going on in your life – good, bad, or neutral. Just spit it all out on the page. Then use the final five minutes to organize these thoughts into logical groupings and lists that you can reference the following day.

With everything emptied out of your mind, you don’t have to lie awake obsessing over different issues and circumstances.

Meditate

After emptying your mind, it’s time to relax. You can do this by meditating.

Freaked out by the idea of meditating? It doesn’t have to be anything spiritual or weird. It’s simply the process of relaxing your mind and body without distractions. Many guys find progressive muscle relaxation to be effective.

“As you lie in bed, tense and relax all of your muscles one by one, starting at your toes and ending at your head,” Karen Asp writes for Everyday Health. “Not only is this incredibly relaxing, as the name implies, it also forces you to think about the physical parts of your body, directing your attention away from whatever thoughts or stressors you’re ruminating about.” 

Hit the Lights

Once your mind is clear and you’re physically relaxed, you’ll find it easy to fall asleep (no TV needed). Hit the lights and doze off. 

As a side note, try to schedule your routine so that you start and end at the same time each evening. Over time, this makes it easier to fall asleep and wake up at a consistent time. 

Adding it All Up

Everyone wants to talk about morning routines. And while morning routines are certainly important, they’re often futile without a corresponding nighttime routine that takes your physical and mental health into account. Using the tips discussed in this article, begin working on a routine that helps you become the best possible version of yourself!