A Simple Wind-Down Routine Before Bed
Most of a good morning is decided the night before. If you go from bright screens to lights off in one step, falling asleep takes longer and the alarm hurts more.
Quick answer: Give the last 10 to 30 minutes before sleep a fixed shape: lights down, phone away, one calm activity, at roughly the same time every night. A timed session with ambient sound makes it easy to stick to. Rise's Wind Down does that, free for up to 10 minutes and up to 30 with Pro.
Why winding down helps
Your body needs a transition between the day and sleep. Bright light, work email and fast feeds keep you alert at exactly the moment you are trying to switch off. A short, repeated routine becomes a cue on its own: after a couple of weeks, starting it is enough to make you feel sleepy.
A simple routine
- Pick a start time. Count back from your alarm. For a 6:30 alarm and 7.5 hours of sleep, wind down from about 10:30.
- Dim the lights and turn on Night Shift or a Sleep Focus on the phone.
- Put work away. Close the laptop, write tomorrow's top task on paper so it stops circling.
- One calm activity for 10 to 30 minutes: reading on paper, stretching, breathing, or just sitting with a calm sound.
- Lights out at the same time most nights.
Wind Down in Rise
- In the evening, open Rise and tap Wind Down on the Home screen.
- Pick a sound: fireplace, storm, waves, white noise or space ship.
- Choose a length. Up to 10 minutes is free; Pro offers up to 30.
- The session runs on the Lock Screen as a Live Activity, so you can put the phone down and let the sound play.
Should the phone be in the bedroom?
If it is your alarm, it probably will be. Then make it boring: Sleep Focus on, notifications off, face down, out of reach. The alarm will still ring.
End the day on purpose
Wind Down with ambient sound. Free for up to 10 minutes.
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