10 Frugal Ways To Unwind Before Bed

You’ll sleep better in a calm, uncluttered space, so keeping your bedroom is clean is really important.

We have a great post on things you forget to clean in the bedroom. Check it out to make sure everything is perfect for a good night’s sleep.

Frugal Ways To Unwind Before Bed

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These are just ways that we’ve found that work for us when we’ve had long days. But, these aren’t tips to get your best sleep.

For that, The Mayo Clinic suggests tips like creating a sleep routine, with a set sleep time and waking time every night, avoid caffeine and heavy meals in the evening, limiting daytime naps, using blackout curtains to create a relaxing space, adding physical activity into your day, and managing your worries.

Read a book or magazine

For Pete, reading is basically a tranquilizer. As soon as he opens a book or magazine, he gets so tired, he usually falls asleep with the magazine open on his lap. It makes it hard to get through a book, but it’s a great way for him to unwind and fall asleep.

It’s a good idea to keep a book or magazine on your nightstand. That way, when you’re in bed, you can just reach over and grab it. If it’s in another room and you have to get up to get it, you probably won’t.

To keep this even more budget-friendly, though, head down to your local library and borrow a book. That way, you always have something to read without constantly spending money on books.

If you have an e-reader or tablet, you can take out ebooks and audiobooks for free via the Libby app. You just need to have a library card to access the system.

And, if you want something shorter and easier, we’re constantly posting free magazine deals on our social media pages, so request those and you’ll always have something free to read.

Put on a podcast

I used to never be able to fall asleep with any sort of noise, and Pete really loves having it when he falls asleep.

At some point, he changed from playing music to listening to podcasts before bed. Some of the hosts have such soothing voices that no matter how interested I am in in their content, their voices are a lullaby for me.

We used to listen to a specific scripted series at night. I would fall asleep shortly after it started and wake up after it ended.

That meant the next day, when I was awake and working, I would actually have to re-listen to the podcast to see what I had missed.

What’s great about this is so many shows just want you to listen, so they offer their podcasts for free via apps like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. So you don’t have to pay anything for them, which makes you feel better about sleeping through them.

Plus, you don’t need to purchase any types of devices to listen to these. You can just stream for free on your phone or tablet.

Turn on the television

My grandma’s favorite way to fall asleep was with the television on. She would set the sleep timer for two hours or so and fall asleep while it was on.

If you’re using television to unwind before bed, be sure to set a sleep timer. You don’t want the television on until morning (because that’s not good for your electric bill).

If you’re like us and don’t pay for cable, that’s fine. You can still set a sleep timer and watch local channels with a digital TV antenna. That way, you’re just falling asleep to whatever’s on in the background rather than actually staying up late streaming your favorite shows.

If you do want to watch something specific before bed, we suggest something you’ve seen before that’s a comfort show or something lighthearted. I always say, “I don’t want chaos in my entertainment,” but you definitely don’t want something with high adrenaline when you’re trying to unwind.

Shower

Lowering your body temperature helps you fall asleep. So a warm shower before bed is a great way to help your body unwind and get ready to sleep. If you don’t like showers, a warm bath would work too.

Okay, I know that sounds counterproductive. But, if you raise your body temperature in the shower, your body will naturally start to cool itself off. And that will help tell your brain it’s almost bedtime.

If you want, you can turn this into a whole nighttime routine, complete with DIY shower steamers. Since you’re making them yourself, that’s more budget-friendly than buying expensive ones.

Instead of expensive exfoliating creams, use a Japanese washcloth. I’ve used those my whole life and I’m obsessed. The fabric it’s made of is a little scratchy, so they scrub away the day (and any dead skin), and just get you relaxed and ready for bed.

We actually have a whole post about having an at home spa day. You’re not going to go through that full routine every day, but on days when you’re really having trouble getting to bed, the tricks in that post may help.

Play games on your phone.

My favorite way to unwind is to play games on my phone. I know, people say that it actually keeps you awake because of the stimulation and the blue light, but it’s so good for me.

Quick note: But if you’re worried about blue light, you can always use your phone on night mode or with blue light blocking glasses.

When I’m playing a strategy game, I stop thinking about the day and start thinking about the level I’m trying to beat. My absolute favorite game is Two Dots, which I have had on my phone for over a decade. It’s a free puzzle solving game, so definitely try it if you like puzzles.

I would recommend staying off social media though. You might see something that makes you angry or upset and gets your brain going. You’ll be thinking about it all night long and won’t be able to fall asleep.

Plus, social media is filled with targeted ads, so you’ll be scrolling and next thing you know, you’ll be adding all sorts of nonsense to your cart. And spending money on things you don’t need late at night is not a frugal way to unwind.

Have some tea.

Tea in the evening is so good for the soul. Tea, like the drink, not gossip (although that kind of tea is good for my soul too, just maybe not in the relaxation way).

A couple times a week, Pete will make a teapot filled with some sort of tea. The type doesn’t really matter, but it’s usually something like chamomile that I got on sale with a coupon. He’ll cut the teabags up and steep the loose tea in a Japanese teapot that he bought me for one of our first Christmases.

If you don’t have something like that, a simple tea infuser that you can add the tea bag contents into works.

Sitting and drinking tea is so soothing in itself. And spending that time with him at the end of the day is just so calming, it really does just get my body into night mode.

And, side note, if you want to get into that ritual with your loved ones, we have a list of tea lover gift ideas for inspiration.

Write a gratitude journal

We (and by we, I mean people in general), very often, spend a lot of time going over the bad parts of the day, thinking about everything that we did wrong, and that keeps us up at night.

So, a really good habit to get into is gratitude journaling.

All you need to do is write down three things that happened that day that you’re thankful or grateful for. Doing this helps you appreciate your days (even the bad days) more, makes you more optimistic, and helps you focus on positive emotions.

Gratitude journaling helps you get better sleep because it puts your mind in a better place and you avoid pre-sleep anxiety. You can read all about that here.

The best part? It’s so cheap. You can write in an old notebook or even just use a notes app on your phone (that way, you don’t even need paper). Or, there are actually specific gratitude journals out there that you can buy (which might be helpful if you’ve never journaled before).

Try some deep breathing

This one might feel a little funny if you’ve never done it before, but stick with me.

Breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, breathe it out through your mouth for six seconds.

That very specific deep breathing is so good for your nervous system. It’s similar to box breathing, although that uses the same interval so you form a box.

I feel like deep breathing is a lot easier for people to do than meditation. With this, you just have to focus for a few seconds. With meditation, you really have to concentrate and that can be hard for people.

Being mindful of your body when you’re doing this, feeling your chest as it goes up and down, really helps to calm you down. And, even better: breathing is free.

If you want, you can spray some lavender essential oil mist into the air before you start any breathing exercises because the scent helps relax your body and get it into sleep mode.

Listen to nature sounds/white noise

Before we had a white noise machine, I was so skeptical of them. I told you earlier, I need the room to be silent in order to sleep. So I couldn’t imagine how eight hours of background noise would improve anyone’s sleep quality.

And then we got a sound machine. It’s amazing.

The first night we used it was on a blog trip where our hotel room faced a very noisy parking lot that faced a highway. And I slept so soundly. The noise machine covered all that outside noise, plus the sounds were so calming that we got such good sleep that night.

You can find free white noise apps online that you can play straight from your phone for free. Also, don’t stop at white (it’s just the most common ambient noise).

There are other types like pink noise, brown noise, green noise, plus ocean sounds and other nature sounds. Try them all out until you find what’s best for you, then create an entire playlist of that sound to get you through the whole night.

Declutter

If you’re in bed and can’t fall asleep, get out of bed. If you’re lying there for more than 20 to 30 minutes, get up. You’re confusing your body and it’s not associating your bed with relaxation anymore.

So, what can you do instead?

Clean a little. Declutter. A clean space helps to create a clean mind. So, clean.

This is a little hard if you share a bedroom with a spouse because you don’t want to be reorganizing your closet when someone else has figured out how to rest. But, you can go downstairs to another room and tackle something like the junk drawer that has been bothering you since you moved in.

The best part about this? You’ll end up with a clean home. I mean, no. The best part is that it doesn’t cost any money to clean. The clean home thanks to that night’s insomnia is a bonus.