10 minutes of quiet before going to sleeproutinewellness

This is a daily routine for time in motion and pause. Use “10 minutes of quiet before going to sleep” to bring a little wellness into the gaps of your day.

Your ears are busy right before you fall asleep. Videos, music, podcasts, notifications—even when you're lying in bed, your head is spinning with sound. 10 minutes before going to bed, turn off all sounds and end your day with just silence.

These 10 minutes are not a magic guarantee of sleep. It's a choice to commit the last leg of the day to silence rather than scrolling.

Before turning off the lights or after turning them off—either way, as long as there is no sound. It's okay if it's not completely dark.

Order of turning off the sound

Set an alarm 10 minutes before you go to bed. TV, speakers, phone—turn off the devices that make sound in that order. It would be better to turn off vibration as well. When a room suddenly becomes quiet, it may initially feel like a beeping noise is occurring in your ears.

It's a process of adapting to stillness. Try reducing the lights one by one. As your eyes relax, your body will follow.

If you are using a white noise app, turn that off as well. If complete silence is unfamiliar to you, you can slightly open the window and let in the faintest sounds of the street.

10 minutes in bed

Lie down and look at the ceiling or darkness. There is no need to reminisce about what happened today. Just feeling your breath is enough. The feeling of your stomach rising when you inhale and your shoulders going down when you exhale.

When a thought comes to mind, don't hold on to it, but return to your breath. If 10 minutes feels long, you're doing well. The day ends with just lying down with all sounds turned off until I fall asleep.

The temperature under the blanket, the height of the pillow, the smell of the air in the room—without sound, other senses become clearer. Feel the moment your body relaxes before you fall asleep.

You don't have to do it every night. You can only do this on days when your head is particularly busy or when you have difficulty falling asleep.

10 minutes of silence changes the signals your body receives. When your ears rest, your head slowly comes to rest. It's okay if you don't fall asleep right away. Lying silently in bed is itself a ritual to end the day.

If you live with a spouse or roommate, a simple reminder to “be quiet for 10 minutes” helps set boundaries. The entire room slows to the same rhythm.

If you went to bed late last night while scrolling, try switching to 10 minutes of silence tonight. Even if you don't have a perfect sleep routine, you can still make small differences from day to day.

When the 10-minute timer rings, you can fall asleep or just lie down. Your body decides when to end stillness.

If you can't sleep, just quietly close your eyes, and if your thoughts come up again, don't extend the 10 minutes until then. When time ends, the silence of the day also ends.