This post contains affiliate links marked with [*].One of my favourite things to do in the winter is to run myself a bath and give myself a proper pamper from head-to-toe. The winter months are so rough on our skin and on our minds so allowing yourself to switch off one evening is just the best thing you can do for yourself. Whether that be with a full on pamper session or something a little less intense like switching off your phone and laptop early and picking up a book instead. Here's what I like to do to unwind in the winter in a few easy steps.
Grab a cuppa
When I think of a cuppa, I instantly think tea because it is the most quintessentially British thing but any hot beverage will do (probably not a coffee though!) I'm not a big coffee drinker generally but any time I have some caffeine I try to make sure I have an early cut-off point otherwise I'll be facing a sleepless night with a caffeine hit - I'm just so sensitive to it. With that in mind, if you are drinking tea late in the evening then choose a herbal tea with no caffeine as opposed to one with. If you're a classic English Breakfast tea kinda gal then you can pick up some without caffeine too.
Personally, I'm a hot chocolate lover and a bit like a baby. Nothing puts me to sleep quite as quickly as a hot chocolate does before bed. As soon as I take the first sip, my eyes begin feeling heavy and it's not too long until I hit the hay. I don't do this every night though - it's actually been a long while since I made myself a hot chocolate before bed - I'm definitely going to tonight!
So basically, make yourself a hot cup of whatever you like to begin winding down.
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Run a bath
There is nothing better than a bubble bath. Fact. On a dreary winter's evening after spending the day outside facing the cold, wet and windy weather there is nothing better than getting home and running yourself a bath. Go all out and give yourself a head-to-toe pamper if you have the time or simply soak in the bath for a moment of peace.
I love using bath time as pamper time. I run a bath with plenty of bubble bath, I apply my favourite face mask, light a candle and bring in a book for ultimate relaxation. If I really fancy pampering myself, I'll also add a few other steps to my bath time/shower routine by exfoliating my whole body, shaving (which is often a long and tedious task but if I'm having a pamper evening I tend to enjoy doing it - I think it's down to the fact I'm not rushing so much) and applying a hair mask.
*SOME OF MY BATH TIME FAVOURITES:
It's all about allowing yourself that extra time to do a little bit more than you would usually do and believe me, it makes all the difference. I mean, if it can make shaving a less arduous task then it must be a good thing!
Read a book
This is a habit I'm trying to incorporate in to my evening routine daily. I am so guilty of scrolling through my phone one last time before I shut my eyes and fall asleep. This leaves my mind racing with new thoughts and ideas making it really hard for me to completely switch off before bed leading to sleepless nights and grumpy mornings.
I've been trying to switch off my laptop before dinner so that that becomes my cut-off work time but if I ever need to finish anything off at the last minute then I try to avoid using my laptop from around 9pm in the evenings (that is for everything from work related things to watching YouTube or a series).
Leaving my phone is always the hardest and I'll admit I haven't quite mastered this yet but I try to avoid social media from about 10pm but admittedly, any time my phone lights up my eyes are instantly drawn to it - I can't help it!
10pm is when I like to pick up my book, giving myself an hour to an hour and a half of reading time. I go to sleep anywhere between 11:30pm and 00:30am which is probably not great but on most nights I manage to get a full 8hrs sleep so it's not all bad.
What steps do you take to relax and unwind in the winter?
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