Keeping Your Cool: 4 Ways to Relax After the Kids’ Bedtime

Parenting is one of the most rewarding things that you can do, but let’s be honest, it can also be incredibly exhausting. After a day filled with snacks, spills, school runs, work obligations, and bedtime battles, you’re likely running on fumes by the time the house finally quiets down. 

Then you have that post bedtime window full of cleaning and setting the house up for the next day. But it’s also precious time, and how you can use it makes a big difference in how you’ll feel the next day. Let’s take a look at 4 realistic ways to relax, unwind and reset.

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How to Relax After the Kids Go to Bed

1. Create a wind down ritual. Once the house is quiet, resist the urge to immediately open the laptop or clean the kitchen. Instead, start your own bedtime routine. This is a signal to your body that it’s time to shift into rest mode. This can be as simple as dimming the lights, putting your phone away, and sipping a cup of herbal tea. Some parents turn to natural products like CBD gummies as part of their nighttime routine to help ease into a relaxed state. When used responsibly and legally, they can be a gentle aid for winding down, but they’re not a magical fix. 
2. Move your body gently. You don’t need to hit the gym at 9:00, but light movement can be a powerful way to release the built up tension. Try a 15 minute yoga session on YouTube or a quick stretching routine. Even a slow walk around the block can help. Movement helps to shift your nervous system out of stress mode and into recovery. It also improves your sleep quality, which is crucial for parents who have limited hours of recharge. There are apps like Down Dog or YouTube channels like Yoga with Adriene that offer short, approachable workouts perfect for tired minds and bodies.
3. Disconnect from work and social media. After a full day of parenting and work, scrolling on your phone can feel like an easy way to decompress, but it often has the opposite effect. Social media can stir up comparison anxiety or overstimulation, while late night work emails can trigger stress while your brain should be powering down. Try setting a digital curfew an hour before bed. Use the time to read, journal, listen to a podcast, or simply enjoy the choir. Your mind needs space to breathe, not more input.
4. Prioritize joyful, low effort activities. Relaxation doesn’t have to mean meditation or self help books, you know, unless that’s your thing. It’s OK to do something purely because it brings you joy. Rewatch your favorite show, do a puzzle, paint, knit, or even just sit on the couch in complete silence. The goal isn’t productivity, but presence in a world that constantly demands output allowing yourself to simply be as a radical act of self-care.

As a parent, your energy is going to fuel your family. Taking even half an hour each evening to care for your own mental and emotional well-being is not indulgent, but essential.