Could Mel Robbins’ Five-Step Evening Routine Change Your Life?

After a long day at work, it’s tempting to spend the evening doomscrolling on the sofa or mindlessly flipping through Netflix. But what you do before you go to bed can have a huge impact on the following day – and introducing some key habits could be a gamechanger, according to motivational speaker Mel Robbins. Her six-step formula for the perfect morning has already gone viral, and now she has shared the ultimate evening routine to set you up for success.

What Is Mel Robbins’ Evening Routine?

In the latest episode of her eponymous podcast, Robbins outlines the five-step evening routine that changed her life. It’s made up of simple habits designed to not only improve sleep, but also ensure you wake up feeling recharged and in control – and just like her TikTok-famous morning routine, each step is backed by science.

Robbins begins the episode by delving into the idea of decision fatigue: a psychological phenomenon which describes how our decision making skills deteriorate as we become drained by all the choices required throughout the day. On average, adults make around 35,000 decisions each day, from the micro to the macro, and this can leave us feeling mentally drained. Cue: unproductive evenings, poor sleep and consequently rushed mornings the next day.

She also discusses the concept of revenge bedtime procrastination: needlessly delaying sleep to do mindless activities (read: scrolling on Instagram) under the guise of getting back personal time after a busy day. Sound familiar? Here’s how to reclaim your five-to-nine, according to Robbins.

1. Pick your bedtime
2. Clean up the mess
3. Make tomorrow easier
4. Five minutes for you
5. Tuck your phone in

@melrobbinsIf you want better sleep, change THIS first. Hear more on this episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, 🎧 “Get Back on Track 5 Evening Habits to Wake Up Focused, Recharged, and in Control.”

♬ original sound – Mel Robbins

Why Does It Work?

Step One: Pick Your Bedtime

The first step is to pick a bedtime and stick to it. Having a consistent nighttime schedule helps send signals to the brain and body that it’s time for rest, allowing you to fall to sleep more quickly. Not only this, but studies have shown sleep regularity is crucial for longevity. To decide on your optimal bedtime, think about when you’re going to wake up and count backwards from there – everyone has different needs, but adults generally need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. Robbins also explains the rule of nine hours: if you want to get eight hours, you need to spend nine hours in bed, to factor in time for actually falling asleep.

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Step Two: Clean Up the Mess

We get it: you’re shattered and the last thing you want to do is put away dishes or fold laundry. But a quick tidy up could make all the difference, stresses Robbins. ‘Studies show that living in a messy environment actually raises your stress level, because you see things that aren’t done,’ she says. ‘When you wake up to yesterday’s mess, it drains all of your energy for today before you even get into your day.’ This is particularly true when it comes to the bedroom: a study from St Lawrence University in New York found being in a cluttered environment can negatively impact sleep. You don’t need to spend hours on a deep clean: Robbins recommends doing a five-minute sweep of your home to ensure you wake up to a clean space and start the day feeling fresh.

Step Three: Make Tomorrow Easier

No-one likes a chaotic morning – it raises your cortisol levels first thing, laying the groundwork for a bad day. To prevent this, Robbins suggests, ‘set yourself up by making tomorrow easier.’ One of the hardest parts about creating a good morning routine, she explains, is all the decisions you have to make, so make the first hour of the day a breeze by making the choices in advance. This could be as simple as planning what workout you’re going to do (Robbins loads up the exact online class on her laptop), or deciding what you’re going to wear the next day.

Step Four: Five Minutes For You

‘This part is amazing,’ says Robbins. ‘You’re just going to take five minutes for yourself – you already gave your day to everybody else.’ A wind-down activity will activate your parasympathetic nervous system, signalling to your body that it’s time to relax. This could be running a bath, making a cup of herbal tea, reading a few pages of a book or journalling.

Step Five: Tuck Your Phone In

There’s endless research to show using your phone before bed can negatively impact sleep. Electronic devices emit blue light, which reduces the natural production of melatonin and decreases feelings of sleepiness – as well as cutting the time you spent in REM. So, Robbins recommends putting your phone somewhere out of sight before you get into bed, whether that’s across the bedroom or (even better) in another room.

Listen to the full episode at melrobbins.com