Eat breakfast for dinner
If you’re often tempted to reach for a ready meal at the end of a busy day, it may be a good idea to add some ultra-easy home-cooked suppers to your arsenal. Nutritionist Sophie Trotman’s secret weapon is breakfast for dinner – particularly when it’s high protein, as the macronutrient is satiating and helps to keep blood sugar balanced. “My ‘fast food’ is scrambled eggs on toasted rye bread,” she says, “with sauteed spinach on the side, if I’m feeling extravagant.” She also suggests mixing together eggs, banana, milled flaxseed, ground almonds and protein powder to make pancakes. “Serve with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and fruit.”
Play a five-minute ‘tidy game’
Before you settle down to relax for the evening, set a timer and challenge yourself to sort out a small area: your desk, the kitchen counter or a pile of laundry. “With the clock ticking, you get super-focused,” says professional organiser Rachel Burditt, AKA the Declutter Darling. “You’ll see an instant payoff. A tidy space is instant calm for your brain.” If you have kids, challenge them to tackle their own area at the same time – and even if it is only a few toys, celebrate their small wins.
“Getting into good habits like quick tidies before bed are important for children; it means they wake up with a fresh start,” says professional organiser Vicky Silverthorn.
Play a video game with your teen
Yes, even if they’ve not done their homework. “Teens come alive in the evenings, so schedule time to play a video game or do something fun together to help to build a long-lasting connection,” says Dr Naomi Fisher, clinical psychologist and author of When the Naughty Step Makes Things Worse. “We do this directly after eating: it’s connection time, which isn’t just about the next chore.”
Finish dinner with apple cider vinegar
“Many people experience cravings for sweets in the evening,” says Dr Benjamin Bikman, metabolic scientist. “But when blood sugar levels get high, they activate the sympathetic nervous system – ‘fight-or-flight’ response – which we don’t want when we’re going to bed.” His tip? Avoid eating anything sugary within three hours of bedtime. To help resolve those cravings, try eating something tart. “I mix a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar into a glass of sparkling water,” says Bikman.
Ben Mudge, online coach and author of Fitness Without Limits, recommends a small portion of fruit. “The fibre helps with satiety and overindulgence,” he says. Or you can sip a cup of uncaffeinated herbal tea – Trotman enjoys sugar-free peppermint and liquorice: “It’s quite sweet, even though it has no sugar in it, and has helped clients curb their sweet cravings.”
Help your kids do their night-time routine solo
“Pictograms create easy-to-understand steps for routines, offering toddlers and preschoolers a visual reminder of what comes next,” says Iben Sandahl, co-author of The Danish Way of Parenting. “They help reduce verbal instructions, which can sometimes overwhelm children.” Set up one row on the bedroom wall for morning routines – changing clothes, eating breakfast, brushing teeth – and another for bedtime, pointing to teeth, bath, story and bed. “As they master the sequence, they will feel more independent,” she says, suggesting that you set an egg timer to help them know how long to brush their teeth for.
Implement the ‘one-touch’ rule’
To stop clutter from piling up when you’re busy, implement what Burditt calls the “one-touch rule”: instead of letting that plate sit in the sink after dinner, wash it straight away. “It’s easier to deal with things in the moment rather than face a huge mess later on,” she says. “The key is no procrastination,” says Jillian Turecki, relationship coach and author of It Begins With You. “Put your clothes away before bed; clean as you cook.”
Accept that you don’t have to win every battle
“If my children are averse to getting into their pyjamas, I’m not going to fight them,” says Fisher, who says it’s fine for kids to go to bed in their day clothes or skip bath time every now and then. “The priority is that they get a good night’s sleep.” Don’t get too hung up on being a “good parent”: the idea that you must do a bath, change and story every single night, even if that’s not what your child wants. “Giving up on an idea now doesn’t mean you’re giving up on it for ever,” Fisher says.
Reflect on the day
Just before bedtime, take a moment to ask your child to reflect on what they’re proud of and what they enjoyed that day: it could be as small as noticing the leaves changing colour, helping make dinner or spending time with a friend on the walk back from school. “This positive reflection helps to build optimism, self-confidence and agency skills, while fostering trust and emotional security,” Sandahl says.
Reflecting on the day is useful for grownups, too. Sahil Bloom, entrepreneur and author of The 5 Types of Wealth, developed a practice known as the 1-1-1 method: “Every evening, write down one win from the day, one point of tension, anxiety, or stress, and one point of gratitude.” It’s an easy way to create a habit of journaling regularly – and reap benefits like reduced stress and improved decision‑making abilities.
Use the 10-minute method to tackle tomorrow’s to-dos
Spend five minutes jotting down everything you need to do the next morning; then highlight the top three must-dos. “To focus on the priorities, ask: is it urgent for myself or somebody else?” says Scott Walker, negotiation expert and author of Order Out of Chaos. If the answer is yourself, spend the next 10 minutes doing some work on your least appealing task to reduce the friction of getting started the morning after.
“When I was writing my book, I’d take time after my son’s bedtime to write the beginning of the first paragraph or jot down a few bullet points, creating that starting momentum,” says Bloom. “This allows me to shut down more effectively, since I know my next morning is already in a good place.”
Schedule five minutes for this somatic exercise
Take each hand to your opposite shoulder, crossing your arms, then gently sway. Slowly tap each shoulder, taking deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. “This is like a gentle hug, helping to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system so you can enter a rest-and-digest state, the opposite of fight-or-flight,” says Turecki. If you’re feeling overstimulated before bed, this will help you slow down.
Try these light stretches
If you sit at a desk all day, help combat stiffness by doing a few light stretches before getting into bed. “Stretching helps relax tight muscles, improves circulation and promotes better sleep by calming your nervous system,” says Mudge. He recommends the “reclined butterfly”: lie on your back, with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, then let your knees fall open to the sides and bring the soles of your feet together. Hold this for one to three minutes to open the hips and help relieve lower-back pain.
“The act of slowly unwinding your body feels like a physical sigh of relief,” he says. To stimulate your lymphatic system and promote proper circulation, says Turecki, find a wall, lie on the floor and elevate your legs up it.
Take a hot shower – then lather yourself in magnesium body butter
“Body temperature dropping is a signal to the brain that it’s time to wind down,” says neuroscientist Nicole Vignola. “You can hack it by having a hot shower right before bed.” As soon as you get out, lather yourself in magnesium body butter: studies have shown how the supplement can help regulate melatonin and combat poor sleep.
“Rub it on your limbs to relax your muscles and nervous system,” says Trotman. If you have time and a tub, run a hot bath with Epsom bath salts, made from magnesium sulphate, to soothe tired muscles. Another option is to add a sachet of magnesium glycinate to a non‑caffeinated drink just before bed.
“Magnesium glycinate helps to create the inhibitory neurotransmitter Gaba, which helps to slow down brain activity at night,” says Vignola.
“I mix magnesium glycinate with sugar-free cocoa and add a little protein powder,” says Bikman.
Cleanse your face twice
Eilidh Smith, founder of clinic Skinwork, recommends sticking to three holy grails: a good-quality cleanser, a chemical exfoliant or retinoid to stimulate cell turnover and to tackle blemishes, and a moisturiser to hydrate. Most importantly? Double cleanse. The first will remove any dirt, pollution and makeup and the second will work more deeply to cleanse the skin.
“You can quickly wash your face, but taking a little longer will make a huge difference if your skin is congested, dull or tired,” Smith says. “Work the product into all areas including hairline and neck, and use a mitt to remove. It’s fine to use the same cleanser for both cleanses.”
Have an evening scent ritual
Incorporate a calming essential oil into your night-time routine by gently spraying it on to your pillow just before you crawl into bed. “This small sensory ritual cues your body to shift into rest mode and enhances the relaxation process,” says Mudge.
Turecki recommends lavender: “It is excellent for stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system.”
Models: Yvonne Achato and Valentine Tooke. Manicurist: Sarah Cherry. Food stylist: Sarah Cherry. Lighting tech: Declan Slattery. Bedding: Piglet in Bed
