Setting up a surfer’s evening routine is one of the best things you can do for your energy and recovery. An evening routine can help make the important actions you need to take easy and automatic. As many of us love waking up early to catch the best waves, it’s important that we are getting enough quality sleep in order to enjoy the rest of the day afterwards. Here’s what you absolutely need to know about getting a proper night’s rest.
A surfer’s evening routine starts with sundown
When the sun goes down our bodies also start to wind down. However, in our modern world there are things we do that counteract this. Our bodies produce a hormone called melatonin. This hormone helps us sleep, but it’s also important for immunity, lowering inflammation and is known as the “anti-cancer” hormone. Once the sun goes down our bodies start to produce more melatonin.
However, if we are exposed to a lot of artificial light once the sun sets, melatonin production will slow down. For every hour that we are exposed to artificial light after sunset our melatonin goes down by 22%. In order to avoid this we can use our lights on dimmers, use himalayan salt lamps in the evenings, or even use red or amber bulbs. Some other helpful things to do are to wear blue light blockers when you look at screens past sundown. Another option is to use the red mode on your cell phone in the evenings
So the first step to a surfer’s evening routine would be to minimize artificial light after sundown.
Set up relaxing activities in the evening
The closer to bedtime the more important it is to be mindful of your activities. The evenings are a time to wind down from the day. This is not the best time to workout or do anything too stimulating. Some great habits for this time of day are doing breathwork, journaling, light reading and meditation. Activities that help activate the peripheral nervous system (the rest and digest system) are great.
Mindful meditation has shown to provide greater improvements in sleep quality. While it helps relax the nervous system it also increases theta brainwaves. These are the same brain waves that occur right before we drift off to sleep.
To help even more – consider turning off all electronics, including wifi, to reduce EMF exposure while asleep.
Create a cool environment
Our body temperature cycles throughout the day. Our warmest temperature occurs around 4-6pm and our coolest temperature occurs around 4-5am. The hypothalamus, located in the brain, drops our temperature to help tell our bodies it’s time to sleep. We want to make sure our actions in the evening are conducive to this natural process. We should try to sleep in rooms that are between 18-22 degrees celsius (65-72 degrees fahrenheit). Keep in mind that memory foam mattresses and latex bed toppers trap heat. Exercise, saunas, and cold plunges should be avoided in the evenings. A warm bath or shower would be fine (not too hot) because as you come out of the water the cold air will help drop your body temperature and induce sleepiness.
Overall
These are a few things to keep in mind when you’re trying to improve the quality of your sleep. It might not be possible to do them all of the time. But it may be worth the effort to do them on the days you know you’re getting up early to surf the following day or you know you need a really good quality sleep. When it comes time to set up your evening routine, try implementing them using a habit stacking method to make it simple to remember.
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