6 Ways to Green Your Evening Routine

Last Updated On October 26th, 2023
6 Ways to Green Your Evening Routine

Key Takeaways

  • Take One Car Places: Carpooling not only reduces your carbon footprint but also eases commuting stress, promoting better sleep and potentially enhancing work productivity.
  • Eating More Greenly at Night: Opting for a lighter, meatless dinner not only conserves water but also aids digestion, improving the quality of sleep and overall well-being.
  • Do Without Electronics: Unplugging electronics, opening windows for natural ventilation, and choosing an eco-friendly mattress contribute to reducing energy consumption and creating a healthier, more sustainable sleep environment.

With endless talk about extreme weather and impending climate change, knowing that you’re doing your part to help the planet just might help you rest a little easier at night.

Eco-Friendly
& Non-Toxic

Choose Organica

Here’s six simple ways to do Mother Nature a solid and green your evening routine. Bonus: Almost all of them will help you sleep better, too.

Buddy up for Your Commute

Carpool with a coworker rather than drive home alone, and help the atmosphere breathe a little easier. By simply carpooling once a week, you’ll be reducing your carbon footprint by 20%. That’s about the same as what’s emitted by flying round-trip from Boston to Wichita, or leaving your TV on for 8 hours every day of the year.

But a group ride home isn’t just good for the planet. Getting to take advantage of the coveted carpool lane means less traffic, so you get a faster, more pleasant commute.

You’ll also get the chance to unload about stuff that’s bugging you—a crazy project, or worse, a crazy client or supervisor—to your colleague, who probably understands your work situation better than anyone else.

All of which adds up to less stress and a more restful night’s sleep. (And since more sleep=more creativity and fewer errors, the quality of your work just might skyrocket. See how everything’s all interconnected?)

tofu robot
Photo by Flickr user donsolo

Go Meatless for Dinner

You know the epic drought that’s wreaking havoc in the Southwest? You could make a small difference by feasting on a tofu stir-fry instead of one made with meat. That’s because it takes a whopping 1,850 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef, but just 39 gallons of water to produce a pound of vegetables. Crazy, right?

That lighter meal will probably help you doze off easier, too. Experts have long known that loading up on heavy fare in the evening can tax your digestive system, which can make sleep harder to come by. Acid reflux and heartburn often accompany eating before bed, after all.

Plus, eating a diet high in saturated fat—and meat has plenty of it!—has been shown to mess with your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.

Take a Post-Meal Stroll

We know. After a hard day at work, the temptation to plop down in front of the TV and give you brain a break is almost too much to overcome.

But if you can muster it, stave off the urge for at least a little while and take a walk first. Do it every night, and you’ll save a not-inconsiderable amount of electricity over time—which amounts to less CO2 spewed into the atmosphere. Every little bit helps, right?

Plus, you’ve probably heard all about how exercisers tend to snooze better than couch potatoes. So go on—lace up those sneaks and get moving.

outlet
Photo by Flickr user drexler

OK, watch TV for a little while. Then unplug.

After your walk, you deserve to watch your favorite show for an hour. But then turn off the tube, and resist the urge to turn to your laptop or tablet for more digital entertainment.

While you’re at it, you might want to unplug your electronics altogether. Even when they aren’t in use, plugged-in devices continue to suck energy out of the outlets in your walls, says the Alliance to Save Energy. An easy fix? Keep the plugs for all of your devices in one central power strip, then unplug that when you’re offline.

What’s more—and you might be sensing a theme by now—skipping the gadgets at night will do wonders for your sleep routine. In fact, one recent study found that the blue light they emit is sort of the caffeine equivalent of the device world: They boost alertness and stave off fatigue. And you wouldn’t down a cup of coffee an hour before bedtime, would you?

Open the Windows

Fall is not too hot and not too cold. In other words, the perfect time of year to keep your bedroom’s temperature comfortable simply by leaving the windows open. Do so, and you’ll slash your home’s CO2 output by more than 20 pounds a month. (Not to mention save up to 5% on your monthly energy bill.)

Still, colder temperatures are known to be good for sleep. So if it feels a little stuffy without the AC, try running a ceiling fan or using a cooling mattress pad.

And if you’re too chilly? Believe it or not, the ideal sleeping temperature is between 60 and 67 degrees, with temps on the colder end being linked to deeper sleep. But if you’re shivering at the thought, just throw on an extra blanket before turning in.

sleepy puppy
Photo by Flickr user micurs

Conk Out on an Eco-friendly Mattress

You knew this one was coming, right? Considering that we spend nearly a third of our lives in bed, it makes an awful lot of sense to keep gnarly chemicals like formaldehyde and flame retardants (yum!) from wafting out of your mattress and into your lungs—and the surrounding environment.

And while it might not be a change you can make this very night, finding the best mattress for you and the environment (and at a reasonable price, no less), is easier than ever.

What other things have you done to make your evenings more eco-friendly? Do you focus on being green while you sleep? How do you keep your bedroom as green as possible?


About the author

Marygrace Taylor is an award-winning health writer for Amerisleep. Her commitment to sleep health is evident in her ability to consistently prioritize eight hours of sleep each night. Her in-depth interviews with industry experts, such as Ken Ceder on "Why Light is Essential for Great Sleep and Optimum Health," highlight her dedication to delivering valuable insights. Marygrace's work has been featured in reputable publications like Business Insider, Glamour, Refinery29, Metro UK, and Hunker, further solidifying her expertise in the field.

View all posts

Discover the ultimate sleep system

Choose your mattress

Shop top-rated mattresses with proven sleep-boosting materials.

Get a pillow

We have the perfect pillow to pair with your mattress.

Browse Pillows

Pick out bedding

Bring out the best in your mattress with our soft and breathable bedding.

Browse Bedding