Sleep Experts All Do These 6 Things Before Bed — Do You? 

For the past six months, our series The Wind Down has shared the bedtime routines that help health experts get their best rest. While each routine is unique (sometimes extremely so), many are united by a few key common threads. From biohackers to breathwork teachers, health professionals of all stripes take the following steps to support their sleep:

Beyond five to 10 minutes of light exposure, a few popular "windup" rituals the experts share include taking a cold shower and visualizing how they want the day ahead to go.

Nearly 50% of the experts featured currently use an Oura ring or another type of sleep-tracking device, while the other half judge their sleep quality based on how they feel in the morning. All of them agree that keeping tabs on sleep in some form or fashion is helpful for identifying the habits that most hinder rest.

Everyone we've polled also admits to the occasional bad bedtime habit. Drinking wine late at night, watching TV in bed, and scrolling on Reddit until the wee hours of the morning are all things they do from time to time. This shows there's no shame in straying from your sleep routine. It's about progress, not perfection.

Along with relaxing jujube and calming PharmaGABA®, magnesium is a star ingredient in mindbodygreen's own nightly sleep aid, sleep support+. This gentle yet powerful supplement is what mbg's co-founder and co-CEO Colleen Wachob credits with helping her get back on track after decades of struggling to fall asleep. "They take about two hours to kick in and make me feel pleasantly sleepy," she writes of the capsules in her routine.*

Of course, eating early won't be possible every night, and on the occasion that model and wellness aficionado Kate Bock needs to dine later, she just chooses foods that are easier to digest. For her, that's a vegan dinner.

"I know—not only from the strong scientific evidence but also from my own personal experiences—that sleep is truly the foundation on which healthy lifestyles and health itself rests," sleep researcher Wendy Toxel, Ph.D., writes in her routine. While getting by on a few hours of rest used to be a badge of honor, these routines show that getting more sleep is really what's worth the bragging rights. From a neuroscientist who needs sleep to feel sharp to a dietitian who finds that she is more compassionate with her patients after a solid snooze, all of these experts agree: Sleep is essential for success.

Though bedtime looks a little different for the dozens of sleep and health experts featured in our Wind Down series so far, they all agree that a few small habits can go a long way in ensuring the type of sleep that sets the foundation for a fulfilling day.