I cannot tell you how many times I’ve gotten into bed with every intention of going to sleep at a reasonable time, picked up my phone to check one little thing, and then looked at the clock what felt like a few minutes later only to realize that I had somehow been scrolling for more than an hour.
And the worst part is that most of the time, I wasn’t even looking at anything particularly interesting.
I was just scrolling.
One video leads to another, then you check Instagram, then Pinterest, then somehow you’re reading the comments underneath a video you don’t even care about, and before you know it, you’ve given away a huge chunk of the time you could have spent sleeping.
If this sounds familiar, I don’t necessarily think the solution is to tell yourself that you’re suddenly going to stop using your phone every night. At least, that approach doesn’t work particularly well for me.
I think it’s much easier to break the habit when you actually have something else to do instead of scrolling before bed, especially something that feels enjoyable enough that putting your phone down doesn’t feel like you’re taking entertainment away from yourself.
And no, I’m not going to tell you that every minute before bed needs to be productive either.
Some nights you might want to read, journal and prepare everything for tomorrow. Other nights you might want to make a cup of tea, listen to an audiobook and do absolutely nothing productive. And both of these are fine.
So, if you’ve been trying to figure out what to do instead of scrolling at night, here are 25 ideas that are actually realistic enough to become part of your normal nighttime routine.
1. Read Something You Actually Like
If you've been wanting to read more but find yourself getting distracted by your phone, a Kindle can make it much easier to build the habit. It's lightweight, easy to carry, and lets you keep an entire library with you, so you can squeeze in a few pages whenever you have a spare moment.
Reading is probably one of the most obvious things to do instead of scrolling before bed, but I think the important part that sometimes gets left out is that you should read something you actually want to read.
It does not have to be a personal development book, a classic novel that you’ve been telling yourself you should finish, or anything particularly educational.
You can read the cheesy romance novel.
Or, you can read that thriller you can’t put down.
Even better, you can read some fantasy, a celebrity memoir, a magazine, short stories or whatever else you genuinely find entertaining.
If the book is something you’re excited to get back to every night, it becomes a lot easier to put your phone down because you’re not simply removing one form of entertainment and replacing it with something that feels like homework. But, also beware not to spend the entire night reading. Instead, give yourself a hard limit on when to put the book down!
2. Take a Nice Warm Shower
If you normally shower at night anyway, try making it part of your actual wind-down routine rather than treating it like one more chore that needs to be rushed through before you can get back to your phone.
Take a warm shower, put on comfortable pajamas, do your skincare and give yourself a few minutes to actually enjoy the feeling of being completely done with the day.
I find that little transitions like this can be surprisingly helpful because instead of going directly from working, watching TV or scrolling into bed, you’re giving your brain a little signal that the day is winding down.
3. Do a 5-Minute Bedroom Reset
I definitely do not want to spend 30 minutes cleaning my bedroom right before I go to sleep, and I’m guessing most people don’t either, but five minutes is completely different.
Set a timer and quickly pick up clothes, throw away any trash, put random things back where they belong, clear off your nightstand and straighten anything that is obviously making the room feel messy.
Then stop there.
You’re not deep cleaning anything and you definitely don’t need to start organizing drawers at 10 p.m.
The entire point is to spend a few minutes making your bedroom feel a little calmer so that you can wake up tomorrow without immediately looking at a pile of yesterday’s mess. And of course putting that phone down.
4. Make Yourself a Warm Drink
There is something about making a warm drink at night that makes the entire evening feel a little more relaxing, especially when you actually sit down and drink it instead of making it and immediately disappearing back into your phone.
You could make a caffeine-free tea like chamomile, peppermint or ginger, warm milk, or whatever warm drink you already enjoy at night.
I especially like this idea because the process itself becomes part of the routine.
Make your drink, put your phone somewhere else, get comfortable and give yourself ten minutes to simply enjoy it without needing to watch, read or scroll through something at the same time.
5. Do Your Skincare Without Rushing Through It
Skincare is another one of those things that most of us are probably doing anyway, so why not turn it into part of your nighttime routine instead of rushing through it because you want to get back into bed with your phone?
Wash your face, apply whatever products you normally use, moisturize, put on lip balm, moisturize your hands and take an extra few minutes to actually enjoy the process.
This doesn’t mean you need a 12-step skincare routine or a bathroom full of expensive products either.
Sometimes simply slowing down something you already do every night is enough to make it feel like an actual wind-down activity.
6. Brain Dump Everything You Keep Thinking About
This is especially useful if you are the type of person who suddenly remembers everything you’ve ever needed to do the second your head touches the pillow.
Keep a notebook somewhere near your bed and write down everything that keeps popping into your head, whether it’s something you need to buy, an appointment you need to make, an idea you don’t want to forget, something you need to do tomorrow or even something completely random that your brain has decided is extremely important at 11:30 at night.
You don’t have to organize any of it.
You don’t even need to turn it into a proper to-do list.
The whole point of a brain dump is simply to get those thoughts out of your head and somewhere you can find them tomorrow, instead of lying in bed trying to remember all of them.
7. Pick Out Tomorrow’s Clothes
This is one of those tiny things that takes almost no time at night but can make your morning feel noticeably easier.
Pick out what you’re going to wear tomorrow, including anything you usually end up searching for at the last minute, and leave everything together somewhere easy to grab.
If you’re planning to work out or walk in the morning, you can also put your workout clothes somewhere visible so there is one less thing you need to think about when you wake up.
It might only save five minutes, but I’ll happily take five fewer minutes of unnecessary decision-making in the morning.
8. Stretch For A Few Minutes
You do not need to pull out a yoga mat, put on workout clothes and complete a 30-minute flexibility routine for this to count.
Sometimes five or ten minutes of gentle stretching is more than enough.
Stretch your back, shoulders, legs or whatever feels particularly tight after the day, put on some quiet music if you want to, and just move your body for a few minutes.
I especially like activities like this as alternatives to scrolling because they’re simple enough that you can still do them on nights when you’re tired and don’t have the energy for anything complicated.
9. Make Tomorrow’s Tiny To-Do List
And I really do mean tiny because I do not recommend sitting down before bed and writing a gigantic list of everything that is currently wrong with your life.
That is probably not going to make you feel very relaxed.
Instead, write down the two or three things you most want to get done tomorrow.
They can be important work tasks, errands, household things or anything else that would make you feel like tomorrow was a pretty successful day if you managed to get them done.
I find that knowing what I really need to focus on tomorrow makes it easier to stop mentally planning the next day while I’m supposed to be falling asleep.
10. Listen To An Audiobook
If you scroll because you like having something entertaining to do before you fall asleep, an audiobook can be a really good replacement because you still get the entertainment without having to stare at your phone.
Pick something you genuinely enjoy, put your phone somewhere you’re not going to automatically pick it back up, set a sleep timer and listen while you’re getting comfortable.
You can even save a particular audiobook specifically for bedtime so that listening to it becomes something you actually look forward to at the end of the day.
11. Do A Crossword, Sudoku Or Word Search
A simple screen-free activity for winding down before bed. This 6-pack of large-print word search books gives you plenty of puzzles to reach for instead of your phone.
Sometimes you don’t necessarily want to relax by doing absolutely nothing. Giving your brain something different to focus on is even better.
That’s one reason I like the idea of keeping a crossword book, Sudoku book or word search somewhere near your bed, because you’re still getting that little bit of entertainment and stimulation you were probably looking for when you picked up your phone in the first place.
The difference is that there isn’t an endless supply of new videos, posts and notifications constantly trying to convince you to stay for another ten minutes.
12. Journal About Your Day
Journaling does not have to involve filling three pages with beautifully written reflections about your deepest thoughts and feelings.
You can literally write about what happened today.
What went well?
What annoyed you?
What did you enjoy?
What do you want to remember?
What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
Some nights you might write a page, and other nights you might write five sentences and it doesn’t really even matter. Just giving yourself this quiet activity to do while also creating a little space between a long day and actually going to sleep.
13. Prep Something For Tomorrow’s Breakfast
If you’re going to spend ten minutes doing something before bed anyway, you might as well occasionally use those ten minutes to make tomorrow morning a little easier.
You could make overnight oats, wash some fruit, portion out breakfast ingredients, fill your water bottle, set out your coffee mug or do whatever small amount of preparation makes sense for the breakfast you normally eat.
I wouldn’t turn this into a full meal-prepping session because that completely defeats the point of winding down for the night, but doing one tiny thing instead of scrolling can make the next morning feel much less rushed.
14. Put On A Relaxing Playlist
One of the reasons scrolling can be difficult to stop is that sometimes sitting in a completely silent room suddenly feels incredibly boring when you’re used to constantly having something in front of you throughout the day.
Playing some music can fill some of that space so you’re not left with just your thoughts.
So, go ahead and put on a relaxing playlist, leave your phone somewhere you can’t mindlessly pick it back up and let the music play while you do your skincare, tidy your bedroom, prepare for tomorrow or simply lie in bed and enjoy the music.
You still get to have something happening in the background without needing to stare at a screen.
15. Color For A Little While
A relaxing, screen-free way to unwind before bed. This adult coloring book has 100 fun, easy patterns that are perfect for keeping your hands busy when you’re trying to stay off your phone.
I know coloring books are not going to be everyone’s thing, but if you enjoy them, this is such an easy activity to keep beside your bed for nights when you need something to do with your hands besides scrolling on your phone.
There is no goal here. You won’t be accomplishing much some enjoyment more than either.
Also, you can choose to color one tiny section and stop, or sit there for half an hour if you’re enjoying yourself.
But, I think that is something worth remembering when you’re trying to find alternatives to scrolling: the replacement activity does not always need to improve you in some way. Sometimes it can simply just be fun.
16. Write Down Three Good Things From Your Day
These don’t need to be huge accomplishments or even life changing moments.
Maybe you had a really good lunch. Or, maybe you finished something you had been putting off. Maybe somebody said something that made you laugh. Or maybe the weather was nice.
Just write down three things from the day that were good, enjoyable or simply made your day slightly better.
This will only take a couple of minutes, but, it will give you something positive to think about before bed and doesn’t require turning your entire nighttime routine into a self-improvement project.
17. Do A Quick Closing Shift
I love the idea of having a little “closing shift” for your home, but I also think it needs to be short enough that you’ll actually continue doing it. Just 10 minutes is fine. Anything longer will defeat the purpose by day three.
Give yourself about ten minutes to put away obvious clutter, wipe the kitchen counter, put dishes where they belong, refill your water bottle, check the doors, turn off unnecessary lights and take care of anything small that you know will annoy you tomorrow morning.
Then consider the house closed for the night. Once done, you should leave everything else until tomorrow.
18. Play A Game With A Clear Stopping Point
If going from an hour of nightly scrolling to absolutely no phone use feels completely unrealistic, you don’t necessarily need to make that jump immediately.
You can start by replacing endless scrolling with something that has a much clearer stopping point.
That could be solitaire, Sudoku, a crossword, a puzzle or another simple game that you can play for ten or fifteen minutes and then actually put down.
Obviously, this still involves your phone if you’re playing digitally, but I think there is a big difference between intentionally playing one game and opening TikTok with absolutely no idea when you’re going to leave.
19. Make Your Bed As Comfortable As Possible
This is probably one of the laziest things on this list, which is exactly why I like it.
Just fluff your pillows, straighten your sheets, grab your favorite blanket, adjust the fan or temperature, fill your water bottle and basically make your bed somewhere you genuinely want to get comfortable and stay.
Sometimes we make breaking habits much harder than they need to be because we assume the replacement needs to be another activity or something productive when that does not need to be the case.
A good alternative to scrolling can literally be getting ridiculously comfortable and doing nothing.
20. Spend 15 Minutes On A Hobby
How many times have you thought that you would love to read more, crochet, draw, write, scrapbook, learn a language, play an instrument or do some other hobby if you only had more time?
Meanwhile, your screen-time report is showing that nighttime is when you spend the most time on your phone.
I’m not judging too much because I’m guilty of this too.
But, there are other things you can fit into this screen time. For example, you can dedicate 15 to 30 minutes to your hobby each night. Or even an hour if you have it.
Take some of that time you would normally spend scrolling and use it for something you keep saying you wish you did more often.
21. Listen To A Podcast
Podcasts are another good option if what you really want before bed is entertainment.
Choose something interesting enough that you actually want to listen to it, put your phone out of your hands and listen while you do something else. Fir instance, you can listen to that podcast while stretching, doing skincare, tidying your room, making tea or simply lying in bed with the lights off.
If you know you’re the type of person who will accidentally listen to six episodes, set a sleep timer and let the app turn itself off.
22. Look Through Your Old Photos
Yes, this technically still involves your phone, but I think there is room between “I need to stop scrolling social media for an hour every night” and “I must never touch a screen after 8 p.m. again.”
Sometimes intentional phone use is perfectly fine.
Instead of scrolling mindlessly because it’s become like somewhat of an addiction, go through pictures from an old vacation, look at photos from a few years ago, organize an album, favorite pictures you want to keep or delete some of the 700 screenshots you definitely do not need anymore.
The point is to decide what you’re doing before you pick up your phone instead of opening an app and letting an algorithm decide what you’ll spend the next hour looking at.
23. Give Yourself A Tiny At-Home Spa Treatment
And when I say tiny, I really do mean tiny.
You don’t need candles, bath salts, cucumber slices over your eyes and an elaborate 14-product routine.
Put on a face mask. Moisturize your feet and put on cozy socks. Massage your scalp for a few minutes. Put lotion on your body. Paint your nails. Pick one little thing that feels good and spend ten or fifteen minutes doing it.
The goal here is not to create the perfect self-care routine to avoid scrolling before bed. It is simply to make putting your phone down feel like you’re choosing something enjoyable rather than taking something enjoyable away.
24. Make Tomorrow Morning Easier
This is probably one of my favorite ways to use my time in the evening because there are so many tiny things that seem insignificant at night but feel incredibly annoying when you’re rushing the next morning.
so, pack your bag. Put your keys where you can find them. Fill your water bottle. Check tomorrow’s calendar. Charge your smartwatch or headphones. Set out your walking or workout clothes. Put together anything you need to take with you.
You don’t even need to do all of these every night, but ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do right now that tomorrow morning me will be happy I already handled?” Then do that.
25. Literally Just Go To Sleep
I saved this one for last because it sounds ridiculously obvious, but I genuinely think sometimes we forget that this is an option we can choose for ourselves.
You do not have to replace scrolling with any other activity.
If you don’t feel like it, you don’t need to journal, stretch, read ten pages, prepare breakfast, organize tomorrow, meditate, do puzzles or do any nighttime routines before you’re officially allowed to go to sleep.
If you’re tired, or just want to sleep more, just go to sleep.
Put your phone somewhere you can’t automatically reach for it, turn off the light, get comfortable and close your eyes.
Sometimes the only reason we’re awake for another 45 minutes is because we picked up our phones in the first place.
And when you really think about it, giving yourself an extra 30 or 45 minutes of sleep might be one of the nicest things you could do for yourself at the end of a long day.
How To Actually Stop Scrolling Before Bed
I think one of the biggest mistakes most of us make when trying to change a habit like this one is making the rules way too strict from the very beginning.
If you currently scroll for an hour or more every night, deciding that starting tonight your phone will never enter your bedroom again and you’re going to read for an hour instead sounds great…until about three nights from now when you’re over that initial burst of motivation and you just really want to check your phone.
So, I would make the change much smaller, especially in the beginning.
Instead of trying to eliminate an entire hour plus of scrolling at night, start by replacing 15 minutes of it.
Choose two or three ideas from this list that you would actually enjoy doing and make those things incredibly easy to reach.
If you want to read, leave your book on your pillow or nightstand instead of tucked away on a bookshelf.
If you want to journal, leave the notebook open with a pen sitting on top of it.
If you want to do puzzles, keep the puzzle book beside your bed.
If you want to listen to an audiobook, choose the book and queue it up before you’re already lying in bed.
At the same time, make scrolling just a tiny bit more inconvenient. You don’t necessarily have to ban your phone from your bedroom. But, maybe if you simply charge it across the room instead of right beside your pillow you won’t grab at it so easily
That tiny bit of inconvenience can be surprisingly useful because now picking up your phone requires you to actually make the decision to get out of bed and retrieve it instead of reaching for it automatically.
A Simple No-Scroll Night Routine
If you want to try this but don’t know which of the 25 ideas to start with, I would keep your first routine ridiculously simple.
Something like this is more than enough:
10 minutes: Shower and do your skincare.
5 minutes: Quickly reset your bedroom and put away anything obvious.
5 minutes: Check tomorrow’s schedule, choose your clothes and make sure you know what you’re doing in the morning.
1 Minute: Put your phone away or charge it across the room. (Makes it inconvenient to grab automatically)
10–20 minutes: Read, journal, stretch, do a puzzle or listen to something.
Then: Turn off the lights and go to bed.
That’s it. You don’t need a two-hour nighttime routine filled with a bunch of habits that look beautiful on Pinterest but become another exhausting list of things you’re supposed to get done every day.
And you definitely don’t need to do all 25 things on this list.
The best alternative to scrolling before bed is simply something you like enough to actually choose over scrolling.
