My 9-Step Evening Protocol for More Happiness and Better Sleep

Want to make your own evening protocol? Download Arthur’s guide to help you get started: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/evening-protocols. 

Most of us know how important it is to start the day well, but ending it well is what sets up your morning for success. A few weeks ago, I shared my 6-step morning protocol for managing mood and maximizing creativity. This week, I share its companion: my evening protocol.

In this episode, I walk through 9 science-based steps for ending the day with calm and contentment, from simple habits that prepare the body for rest to small rituals that strengthen love, gratitude, and peace of mind. 

Just like the morning routine, these habits are meant to serve you, not the other way around. This isn’t about perfection, but about inviting a state of surrender that allows you to end the day with gratitude, wake up fully rested, and begin another more productive and happier day.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(07:56) Step 1: Best practices for dinner

(11:39) The case for no alcohol 

(13:11) When to cut off caffeine for the day

(15:32) Why dessert wrecks your sleep

(19:43) Step 2: Go for a walk 

(26:21) Two ways to improve your relationship 

(29:20) Step 3: Take your vitamins 

(34:59) Step 4: Limit screen time

(37:01) Step 5: Go to bed 

(39:54) Step 6: Eye contact 

(44:11) Step 7: Read 

(46:00) Step 8: Recite your mantra 

(47:32) Step 9: Never Mind

(49:18) Q&A: When should children wake up

(50:47) Q&A: My wife, Ester’s, morning routine 

(52:04) Q&A: Managing an afternoon slump

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Referenced:

• How to Build a Life: https://www.theatlantic.com/projects/how-build-life/

• The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life: https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Files-Insights-Arthur-Brooks/dp/B0F4MFQ6VN

• My 6-Step Morning Protocol for a Better Day: https://www.arthurbrooks.com/podcast/my-6-step-morning-protocol-for-a-better-day

• Relationship between food intake and sleep pattern in healthy individuals:

https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.1476

• Alcohol and sleep-related problems:

https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7646

• Body metabolizes caffeine slower as you age: https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/body-metabolizes-caffeine-slower-as-you-age

• Is a “Sweet Tooth” Genetic?: https://www.sapiens.org/biology/sweet-tooth-genetic-foragers 

• Relationship between added sugar intake and sleep quality among university students

https://doi.org/10.1177/237796082211101

• ...References continued at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.arthurbrooks.com/office-hours⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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