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Real rest routines

Plan some perfect bedtime activities as we learn about how a routine can help you get a great night’s sleep.

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • A4 paper
  • Pens or pencils

Before you begin

  • The person leading the activity should make four signs. One should say ‘Bedroom,’ one ‘Bathroom,’ one ‘Kitchen’ and one ‘Living Room.’
  • They should attach each sign to a different wall of the meeting space. Make sure that the signs are far enough apart that each one has space for the group to gather in front of it.
  • The person leading the activity should write down seven reasons for having a good night’s sleep.

Run the activity

  1. Everyone should talk about the reasons why it’s important to get a good night’s sleep. The person leading the activity should ask the group to try to name the seven reasons that are written down. Tick off any that the group say and give hints so that they can guess the others.
  1. The person leading the activity should show the group the signs on the wall and explain that each one is the name of a zone. Each zone is a part of the house that a person might visit when getting ready for bed.
  2. Tell everyone to run to a different zone until everyone knows which zone is where.
  3. The person leading the activity should read out the 'activities' listed below. The group should run to the zone where that activity might usually take place (e.g. 'Have a bath’ should be ‘Bathroom.’).
  4. Once there, each person should mime the activity as best they can.
  1. Now, everyone should split into groups of between four and six people.
  2. Each person in each group should choose their favourite part of their bedtime routine that they do every night.
  3. Each group should then decide in what order they should do their favourite activities before going to bed.
  4. When each group has agreed on a routine, everyone should come together again.
  5. The groups should demonstrate their routines to the rest, performing the activities by miming and running between the zones where the activities take place.
  6. The person leading the activity should allow this to grow into a discussion about what order to do things before bed. Everyone should be able to explain why they chose the order that they did.

Activity

Zone

Have a bath

Bathroom

Wash your face

Bathroom

Brush your teeth

Bathroom

Get changed for bed

Bedroom

Read a story

Bedroom, Living room

Turn off electronic devices (TV, phone, tablets)

Living room

Turn off the lights

Bedroom

Have a hot drink

Kitchen

Have an evening snack

Kitchen

Tuck in / snuggle up

Bedroom

Say good night

Living room, Bedroom

Reflection

The group has learned about the importance of sleep to a healthy lifestyle. Has anyone ever felt really good after a night’s sleep, or really bad? What did they do differently that night? What might you do in the future to make sure that you have more good nights?

A bedtime routine is a good way to settle yourself down and get comfortable before going to bed. The group has seen that everyone settles themselves and gets comfortable in different ways. How hard was it to come up with a routine with other people – how different was it from what you would usually do? Did anyone see a routine acted out by one of the groups that they would like to copy? How about one that would keep them awake or ruin their sleep?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

Anyone who struggles to act out the bedtime activities could use some visual cues written up on the signs for them to copy.

Those who know bedtime routines back to front might like to try completing the routine within a short time limit. The person leading the activity could read out a selection of activities and the bedtime masters must remember all of them, where to go and what to do inside one or two minutes, depending on how many activities are read out.

Visual learners could benefit from cues for miming the bedtime activities

Less mobile members of the group could point to the zone that they are choosing for the activity, before acting it out.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers My Skills Challenge Award

The group could keep bedtime routine diaries to keep track of their night-time activities. This will help the group by reminding them what they still need to do before turning out the lights. They can also note down any distractions or anything that gets in the way of them finishing their bedtime routine, to be talked about when the group meet again. 

By planning their own bedtime routines, young people can get into the habit of going to bed on time and sleeping well. This will help learning and growth, while also preparing them for a future where they may need to get up early for school or work.