Wind-Downs, Wake-Ups, and the Joy Span: Practical Routines for Better Sleep and Better Days

By Morgan Hendrix | October 17, 2025 |

If you’ve ever collapsed into bed, slept “enough” hours, and still woke up foggy, you’re not alone. I’ve been learning lately about two deceptively small levers that pay outsize dividends: a mindful wind‑down at night and a sensory wake‑up in the morning. The spirit was simple: feel it, don’t fake it. Make it doable, make it repeatable, and let your physiology help you out.

Below is a short field guide drawn from what I’ve been exploring to try to improve my own sleep.

Why routines matter more than hacks

Routines reduce anxious energy, set circadian anchors, and cue the body for what’s next. A consistent wind‑down helps you fall and stay asleep; a gentle, embodied wake‑up helps you start the day without spiking stress. Behaviorally, these bookends both shape and reflect identity: “I’m a person who protects my energy.” That identity reinforcement is a key positive psychology move: build upward spirals of genuine positive emotion, not performative gratitude or one‑off fixes.

What the science generally points to:

Regularity matters. Stable bed and wake times calibrate your internal clocks.
Sleep hygiene behaviors vary in impact, but consistent routines, reduced evening stimulation, and aligned timing are among the most reliable wins.
Even low‑threshold, brief interventions can improve sleep and well‑being when they’re easy to adopt and stick with.

The 90‑second wind‑down: feel your body, prime deep sleep

In our session we framed a wind‑down that takes less time than scrolling a feed:

Pair it with an existing cue. For example, as you apply your evening oils or wash your face, bring your posture into alignment: head over shoulders over hips, soft knees. Breathe slowly through your nose and notice pleasant sensations (warm water, calming scent, soft fabric). Ninety seconds is enough to start down‑regulating.
Add a brief memory prompt. Jot one or two “what went well” lines or a sensory memory from the day. The aim isn’t a perfect journal; it’s to evoke real positive emotion, which broadens attention and improves sleep‑relevant physiology over time.
Nudge bedtime earlier by 15 minutes. Small shifts are stickier and can help you “catch” that first deep‑sleep cliff—often the most restorative phase of the night.

Why this helps:

Reducing pre‑bed energy levels improves sleep onset and continuity.
Consistency and earlier timing are associated with better duration and sleep architecture in daily‑life studies.
Positive emotion practices (when genuinely felt, not forced) contribute to well‑being and can counter negativity bias at bedtime.

Practical add‑ons peers have found useful:

Dim lights and close laptop an hour before bed.
Keep snacks light if needed; avoid alcohol near bedtime (it fragments sleep).
Prepare your room: cool, dark, quiet, and decluttered reduces sensory “noise.”

The sensory wake‑up: start gentle, start embodied

Morning cortisol naturally rises to help you wake. If the day begins with a jolt—urgent alarms, immediate inbox—many folks stack stress cortisol on top of that dawn peak and feel wired‑and‑tired all day. We prototyped a 2–3 minute “in‑bed” sequence:

Six nasal breaths while lightly rubbing fingertips together, noticing texture and warmth.
A full‑body stretch and a brief quad set: gently press thighs toward the mattress to recruit big muscle groups, then release.
A slow roll to sitting, feet to floor, pause, then stand.

This is a micro “re‑embodiment” that meets the nervous system where it is—without the fight‑or‑flight launch. Pair it with morning light within an hour of waking to sharpen circadian alignment; daytime light exposure is consistently linked to better sleep that night.

Calibrating goals with data (without obsessing)

Wearables can spotlight patterns, but the win is behavior change, not chasing perfect numbers. Useful guardrails:

Deep sleep is the “feel rested” pillar; many adults do better when they average around an hour plus per night. Don’t force it; improve the inputs that make deep sleep more likely: earlier, calmer wind‑down, regular schedule, alcohol reduction, and daytime light and movement.
REM is valuable for memory and emotional processing. Neurologists describe REM sleep as “washing your brain” by sending energy through your neurons in a specific way. Large increases in REM (sometimes called “REM rebound”) may reflect prior deprivation; aim for consistency across weeks, not perfection in any one night.

When life is heavy, keep it honest

A subtle but crucial point from our conversation: gratitude and “benefit finding” only help when they’re felt. Forcing it can backfire—physiology follows authenticity. Choose prompts that reliably evoke genuine warmth: a real laugh from the day, a small act of kindness you noticed, one sensory detail you enjoyed. Quality over quantity.

Positive psychology in practice here looks like:

Authentic positive emotion, not pressure to be upbeat.
Small, repeatable rituals that train attention toward what’s good.
Strengths‑based adjustments at work and home that conserve energy for recovery.

A minimal protocol you can ship this week

Night (5–10 minutes total)

Lights down and screens off earlier than usual.
90‑second posture + breath + sensation practice while doing an existing step (oils, face wash).
Two‑line “what went well” or one vivid memory cue. Stop while it still feels good.
Bedtime 15 minutes earlier than last week. Hold steady for 7 nights.

Morning (2–3 minutes in bed, 5 minutes after)

Six nasal breaths with fingertip rubs, full‑body stretch, brief quad set, slow sit‑to‑stand.
Bright light within 60 minutes of waking. Bonus: short outdoor walk if possible.

Expectations

Early wins often show up as easier sleep onset and fewer “mind‑spins” at night.
Deep sleep minutes may tick up gradually; treat any upward trend as proof the inputs are working.
If you miss a night, resume. Consistency over streaks.

For the skeptics (and the sleep‑deprived)

The literature on sleep hygiene is kind of all over the place, but two practical themes seem like common ground:

Regularity and timing matter.
Simple, low‑effort interventions can improve both sleep and subjective well‑being when adopted consistently.

If you want a rapid sanity check, aim for the smallest changes that touch physiology directly: dimmer evenings, earlier lights‑out by 15 minutes, and real morning light. Then layer in the 90‑second wind‑down and sensory wake‑up.

Closing thought

In coaching rooms and clinical hallways alike, we see the same arc: when people feel their way into small, repeatable rituals, sleep stabilizes and days get kinder. You don’t need a perfect program—just a couple of reliable tugs on the upward spiral.

If you try this protocol, I’d love to hear what shifts first for you: time‑to‑sleep, deeper sleep, or just a little more calm at either end of your day.

Posted in Enjoying Life, Uncategorized