The evening ritual — a calmer transition into sleep

Sleep doesn't begin in bed. It begins in the hour before — in the shift from screen light to dimmed light, from adrenaline to calm, from the fabric of the day to something softer.

Light

Dim the main light an hour before bed. Avoid cold, blue light. Warm, low-placed light tells your hypothalamus that evening has come — melatonin begins to rise.

Fabric

Swap the day's fabric for something with no memory. Silk doesn't cling, doesn't pinch, regulates its own temperature. The body relaxes faster in something that doesn't pull.

The mask

A silk sleep mask banishes the last light without pressing on the eye socket. The skin around the eyes isn't dried out as it is by cotton or synthetic masks.

The effect is cumulative. One night makes no difference. Three weeks later, most people notice they fall asleep faster — and wake up without the usual creases on their face.