Calm Evening
Dim light, your phone outside the bedroom and a short note. An evening that slowly winds down.
For people who find it hard to switch off in the evening. The lights gradually soften, your phone stays outside the bedroom and a short note closes the day, 5 to 20 minutes a day in total.
A day in the program
Tasks, in order.
Times assume waking at 7:00 and going to sleep at 23:00. In the app, they shift to fit you.
Evening
- 21:45Check your bedroomSleep · Sun
When you air out the room on Sunday evening, walk through your bedroom: is it dark, quiet and on the cool side? Cover anything that glows and dim anything that blinks.
Almost complete darkness. During sleep, the consensus recommends no more than 1 lux in the bedroom, which is almost complete darkness (Brown et al. 2022).
Night
- 22:00Dim the lights at homeLifestyle · Every day
When it is 22:00, switch off the ceiling lights, leave just a lamp on and put your phone in night mode. Sleep at 23:00 is the default; adjust the time to suit you.
How much light in the evening. The international consensus recommends no more than 10 lux from three hours before bed, so a lamp rather than a ceiling light (Brown et al. 2022).
- 22:15Charge your phone outside the bedroomLifestyle · Every day
When you go to brush your teeth, leave your phone charging in another room. A regular alarm clock can wake you up.
Less screen. Students who limited their phone use to about 2 hours a day for three weeks reported better sleep and mood (Pieh et al. 2025).
- 22:30Write down three good things3 min · Mind · Every day
When you sit down on the bed, write down three things that went well today or made you glad. A few words each is enough, 1 to 3 minutes.
Modest, but cheap. According to a meta-analysis, the effect of gratitude journaling is small; the authors themselves call it modest. But it only takes a few minutes (Cregg and Cheavens 2021).
- 22:40Read a paper book15 min · Mind · Every day
When you finish writing, pick up a book or magazine on paper. In the first week, 5 minutes is enough; from the second week, 15.
Why paper. A paper book does not give off light, so it is easier to stay under the 10 lux the consensus recommends for the evening (Brown et al. 2022).
General suggestions for everyday wellbeing, not medical advice. Adjust the tasks to suit you. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication regularly, talk to your doctor before making changes.
What our programs build onSources
What the program builds on.
Dim lights, a paper book and a dark bedroom follow the consensus: no more than 10 lux in the evening and no more than 1 lux at night.
The program offers writing down three good things as a small practice with a modest effect, not as treatment.
Each evening step is tied to the one before, because a habit forms most easily through repetition on the same cue.
Keeping the phone outside the bedroom follows a trial in which cutting back on phone use improved students' sleep and mood.