This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The 5 AM Club" by Robin Sharma. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Want to wake up energized at 5 a.m.? The secret might lie in what you do the night before. Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club reveals that your bedtime routine is just as crucial as your morning one—and getting quality sleep is the foundation of it all.
From timing your last meal to creating the perfect wind-down ritual, small changes to your nighttime habits can transform your mornings. Keep reading to discover how to build an evening routine that sets you up for success, and learn why sleep is your most powerful tool for growth.
Originally Published: March 4, 2021
Last Updated: December 18, 2025
Robin Sharma’s Recommended Bedtime Routine
In The 5 AM Club, Robin Sharma contends that how you end the night before is just as important as how you start each day. Sharma says you should be in bed and ready to sleep shortly after 10 p.m. if you want to wake up recharged at 5 a.m. If you’re used to staying up late, this ritual will be difficult to follow, but you can use the steps of habit formation to build your bedtime routine.
The following are Sharma’s suggestions for how to manage the last three hours of your day:
- From 7 to 8 p.m., eat your last meal of the day and turn off all devices. Studies show that the blue light from technological devices reduces the production of melatonin—nature’s sleeping pill—in the body. Without melatonin, the body is not signaled to sleep, and the sleep you eventually get will be restless.
- From 8 to 9 p.m., use the quiet environment to engage meaningfully with family, read, meditate, or take a bath. Your goal is to help your body unwind and relax to prepare for sleep.
- From 9 to 10 p.m., prepare your exercise clothes for the morning, make time for gratitude practice, and get ready for bed.
Tonight’s Sleep Fuels Your Day Tomorrow
Sharma asserts that you won’t benefit from the Victory Hour if you’re exhausted. A smart bedtime routine helps you get enough quality sleep to support your mental capacity and overall health.
(Shortform note: How can you tell if you’re getting “enough” quality sleep? In Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker says you should check to see if you have a sleep deficit—the difference between the amount of sleep you need and the amount you get. Some signs of a sleep deficit:
- You don’t wake up naturally at the time you set your alarm.
- When you read, you often lose track and need to read a sentence twice.
- You feel drowsy just hours after waking.
- You need coffee to feel functional.)
Sharma says the benefits of sleep are endless. When you’re asleep, the brain cleanses itself with cerebral spinal fluid. Human growth hormone is also released when you sleep, which regulates emotions, improves cognition, and increases energy. These processes keep your brain healthy, which helps keep the rest of your body healthy.
(Shortform note: To boost your brain’s nighttime cleaning, experts recommend that you sleep on your side with slightly bent knees, using a supportive pillow for your head and another between your legs to keep your spine straight. This position has the added benefits of reducing snoring, helping with sleep apnea, and easing back pain.)
According to Sharma, you disrupt these processes when you don’t get enough sleep, and sleep deprivation has been shown to lead to premature death. A successful nightly ritual will help you sleep better and wake stronger so you can tackle the Victory Hour fully recharged and ready to grow.
(Shortform note: In Why We Sleep, Walker goes into more detail about what happens when you don’t get enough quality sleep. Aside from having negative effects on your attention, concentration, and emotional control, sleep deprivation may also contribute to Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and obesity, among other diseases.)
| More Habits for Healthy Sleep Shawn Stevenson offers additional tips for forming healthy sleep habits in Sleep Smarter, some of which relate to your bedtime routine. First, get more sunlight in the morning. This prompts the release of hormones that make you more alert and trigger important biological processes (such as hunger and thirst). It also prompts your body to produce hormones needed for a normal sleep cycle: melatonin, which prepares your body for sleep at the cellular level; serotonin, which aids in the production of melatonin; and cortisol, which helps regulate your circadian rhythms. Second, reduce your screen time, as Sharma suggests. Stevenson recommends replacing screen time with calming activities such as reading a book or practicing gentle yoga stretches. Third, get the timing of your sleep right. Stevenson says that the optimal time for your body to make repairs during sleep is from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. So, similar to Sharma, he recommends that you go to bed before that window. If you’re still awake around 10 p.m., you’ll get a second wind, and you’ll probably have a harder time falling asleep. |
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Here's what you'll find in our full The 5 AM Club summary :
- What the Victory Hour is and how it can change your life
- Why an early morning routine activates your creative and productive potential
- Why the first hour after you wake up is your most productive
