My Night Time Routine
What does my bedtime routine have to do with Vitamin IV therapy?
Well... not much really... except that if you're finding (even the thoughts of) new habits, such as the ones I mention in this video to be overwhelming, then I suggest coming in for IV nutrients first.
Give your self and your system a leg up from a vitamin and mineral perspective, with nutrients delivered right to your cells.
When a patient asked me what my personal nighttime routine is I thought I would answer this question with a video.
Please keep in in mine that this is just my version of this. You need to find something that works
for you.
This all takes about 10 minutes at the end of my day, just before bed. I've already brushed my teeth at this point. I do that as soon as I'm done eating supper.
WIND DOWN TIME
I like to turn my lights out by 9:30 and it's usually closer to 9:45, or sometimes a bit after. This is still a work in progress for me. So the routines below are taking place at some point around 9:15 / 9:30 pm.
ROUTINE ONE: Health and Habit Tracking
First, I like to keep track of what happened that day. I keep a health journal. I currently use a "Family Planner" from the dollar store because it has many columns and lots of space. My previous journals were very small, and I had to cramp my writing to fit it all in, so this is much better.
I wake up and I write down my data:
My basal body temperature - to assess my thyroid function, and metabolic health.
My weight - an objective way of determining if my yesterday was inflammatory (increase in weight) or friendly (decrease in weight). This is the premise from Lyn-Genet Recitas' The Metabolism Plan which I share about here and here and here. I highly recommend it as the best food-as-medicine, happy-aging, eating program.
How I slept - the number of hours I was in bed, the approximate hours of actually sleeping (estimated because I don't track with a health device), and the quality.
At the end of the day, before bed I write down:
My movement, activity, exercise,
Any symptoms I might have felt in my body, in my heart, or my mind. I'll include levels of stress here.
My food consumption.
I have been tracking like this for several years since this experience.
I like it because I can look back. If there's something that I feel like is going a bit wibbly wobbly in my health, I can track back to realize:
"Well, T, like you haven't been getting to bed on time, or you haven't been eating enough broccoli, or you've been eating more sugar than your body tolerates, etc."
I can hold myself accountable in that way. And I also like this because know how easy it is to forget when or how things started.
Often the most important questions I ask patients when I'm taking their case is:
"When did this start and what were the circumstances around this starting?"
And it's so easy to forget (if you're like most of the people I talk to you can hardly remember why you came into this room!).
ROUTINE TWO - the Story Worthy Moment
I heard this idea three times from three different people (who I don't remember who they were) in one week and it caught my attention.
So the 2nd thing I do before bed is write down a story worthy moment of the day.
I started this habit in March of 2025 and I absolutely love it.
I bought a little book that has a question each day of the year for 5 years.
Next year when I'm coming back to that page, I will reread the story worthy moment.
Many of these story worthy moments become ideas for posts and content to share.
Admittedly, many of them are places where I:
Learned something
Was surprised by something
Was delighted by something
Was moved by happy, patient updates and reports after Vitamin IV Therapy. That one really fills me up!
ROUTINE THREE - the Gratitudes
I write in a blank weekly journal (from the dollar store) as if I'm speaking to one person.
For example, I'll write, "Thank you so and so for the amazing wonderful thing that you did for me
that improved my life in such and such a way.
There are 8 sections, and in the eighth section I write my wins, the things that I'm proud of, the things
that I feel like I did a good job on.
LIGHTS OUT - Falling asleep
When I get into bed, sometimes I'll read and most times I just go to sleep.
When I go to sleep every night, I have earbuds that are connected to a non- phone device; it's a voice recorder with no no Wi-Fi, cellular signal, or blue tooth in it. The earbuds are connected by wires (you know back in my day and all of that).
I always fall asleep with some sort of hypnosis track playing; I always give my unconscious mind something to work on at night as I'm falling asleep.
I usually fall asleep within 2-3 minutes.
At some point in the night, I wake up and fine, tucked under my pillow, my custom-made earplugs. I trained my fingers to know, in the dark, by feel alone, which ear and which orientation is what.
Why do I sleep with custom-made earplugs? Because I sleep with a snorasorus and generally blocking out this noise is a wonderful thing.
Check out this video to find out when it's not.🤣🤣🐇👜
NO EXCEPTIONS
I do all of this when I'm away.
I bring all my things with me when I travel so I can keep up with my routine because it's important to me to stay consistent.
When I'm not nutrifying patients with nutrient IV therapy, I am counseling people on how to change their habits for the better.
And these are some examples of things that I do that I think make my life and health better.
If any of this sounds intriguing to you, give it a try.
If you're embarking on a new habit, I highly suggest trying it for at least 30 days and then deciding if it's something that is worthwhile for you to continue.
If all of this feels overwhelming, then maybe just come in for some nutrient IV therapy, put your feet up, get nutrified, and maybe then you'll have the bandwidth to consider some of these other habits.
I'm Dr. Tonia Winchester. I'm a Naturopathic Doctor and IV nutrient therapist in Nanaimo, British Columbia. I'm here to fuel your cells with vitamins, minerals and nutrients, via IV therapy. Why? So you can keep up with life demands with out your health suffering anymore. And! So you can create habits that can sustain your well-being with ease and vitality.
