Five products to use before you go to sleep that'll help you wake up feeling fresh.

As the old saying goes, a good offence is a great defence. If you look at it this way, a great night’s sleep is the best way to prepare for the day ahead. But this is hard. I know that… We all know that.

So many things get in the way of a sleep – social media, your monkey mind that’s going at 100 miles per hour and the call of every single show on Netflix and Stan combined.

This makes upping your bedtime sleep hygiene ever so important, even more so than keeping up with who is still on Bachelor in Paradise.

And how does one do this? Well, by establishing a night-time ritual, AKA a delightfully fancy phrase for doing certain things with set products and regular times pre-bed, which will trick yourself into snoozing easy and getting the most out of your tomorrow. It’s all anybody really wants isn’t it?

So, throw your phone to the other side of the room (or at least turn it on night mode) and get ready to wake up feeling like a brand new person with these five night rituals. Yay.

1. Supercharge your beauty sleep.

We all love a multi-tasking hack and with the next glorious seven or eight hours (optimism here people) dedicated to recharging your body, why not let your skincare take its time to work its magic?

One way is to invest in your beauty sleep with something like NIVEA Q10 Plus C Anti Wrinkle + Energy Sleep Cream ($23.99). This hardworking cream is formulated with antioxidant ingredients like pure Vitamin C (or absorbic acid, for the skin nerds *raises hand*) - which is the thing that makes your skin look refreshed and healthy , kicking dullness in the butt. It also has Q10, which helps build collagen and elastin and keeps your skin plump, bouncy and youthful.

And while it feels luxuriously creamy, it sinks in almost immediately so you can get your head to the pillow in no time.

2. Journal like you mean it.

A post shared by Five Minute Journal (@fiveminutejournal) on Mar 20, 2018 at 11:00am PDT

A simple notebook and pen or scrap of paper will do for this one. However, you don't need to be the next Marian Keyes. The aim of this step is to dump all the mental junk and loose thoughts bubbling away in your head so that you don't hit the pillow with your mind racing with tomorrow's to-do list.

Customise this step to suit you. Maybe this looks like writing out three things you want to accomplish by tomorrow, or a personal affirmation. Personally, I write down three great things that happened in the day, followed by one thing I could have done to make it better and something I would like to accomplish in the future.

3. Investigate sleep boosters.

Sometimes it's all about creating small rituals that signal to your body that it's time for sleep. Kind of like your parents giving you a warm cup of milk before bed (or soy milk for the lactose-intolerant kids).

The adult version? Maybe for you it's a cup of warm chamomile tea or a specially formulated sleep tea like the English Tea Shop's Wellness Sleepy Me Tea ($7.95). For people that are hot beverage averse, and I know you're out there, a supplement containing melatonin or magnesium are other homeopathic remedies to keep beside your bed.

4. Scent that pillow!

A post shared by Brittany Stewart (@brittanybeautybts) on Mar 16, 2018 at 12:48am PDT

Sandwich all the effects of the above with a little bit of something extra - hit all your senses with a gentle nudge to sleepy time with a scented pillow spritz. It's all about the little things after all.

You can easily make you own in a little spray bottle with one parts vodka, three parts water and 10 drops of a soporific essential like lavender oil or sandalwood or vanilla. Otherwise This Works' Deep Sleep Pillow Spray ($37) is a lovely alternative - my fellow Mamamia beauty writer Brittany Stewart loves it too.

5. Up your pre-bed outfit game.

Now you don't need to re-do your pyjama drawer, but adding an eye mask can be a luxe way to block out any stray rays of light threatening to upset your circadian rhythms. That's your body's way of regulating your energy levels between night and day.

This Cotton On Total Block Out Set even comes with ear buds for complete darkness and silence, with a slightly passive aggressive warning to match. For a little extra TLC for your eyes before bed, pop on some of NIVEA Q10 Plus C Anti-Wrinkle + Energy Eye Cream ($23.99) before slinging on that eye mask.

Voila! You have a few pre-sleep rituals to choose from right here. But we're keen to hear yours too.

What are you favourite night time hacks? Make sure you tell us in a comment, we'd love to hear.