This planner works backwards from the time you need to wake. It turns your wake time and the hours of sleep you aim for into a bedtime, and then arranges the evening steps that the tradition describes around it: a light, early evening meal, a short walk, a slower pace, a warm wash and, if you like, a foot massage. It is a general wellbeing routine, not a treatment, and it makes no claim to cure or improve any sleep problem.
What ratricharya is
Ratricharya means conduct for the night. The Charaka Samhita names sleep as one of the three supports of life, together with food and regulated conduct, so the tradition treats it as central to health. This site’s page on evening and sleep sets out what the texts say and what later teachers add. The evening meal should be light and early enough that digestion is under way before sleep, the mind should be settled before bed, and sleeping at night is the norm. Staying awake through the night is described as drying and aggravating to vata, and sleeping by day is discouraged for most people, with exceptions.
Some of this lines up well with modern sleep advice, and some of it, such as why certain hours matter, belongs to the tradition and has not been tested. The page tells you which is which, and so does the result here.
How the times are worked out
Bedtime is your wake time minus the hours you chose. The evening meal is placed so that it ends three hours before bed and lasts about 45 minutes, the same arrangement as the dinner time tool, which in turn follows the page’s advice to leave two or three hours. A walk of about fifteen minutes follows the meal, as the page describes. Screens go away and the lights go down for the last hour, which is the modern advice the page repeats. A warm wash comes half an hour before bed, and the optional foot massage ten minutes after the wash.
The minutes are our own arrangement. The texts say the evening meal should be light and early and that the mind should be settled before bed, but they give no clock times. Teachers often say to be in bed before about 10 pm, in the kapha period of the evening, and the result tells you whether your bedtime is before or after that. There is no research showing that 10 pm itself is special. A regular bedtime and wake time, and enough hours, are what the research supports.
If you choose a dosha type, you get a short note drawn from this site’s dosha pages: regularity for vata, a cool and quiet room for pitta, and no long daytime sleep for kapha. Those notes are teaching conventions and have not been tested.
The foot massage
Rubbing a little warm oil on the soles before bed (padabhyanga) is a common recommendation, and the texts praise oiling of the feet in general. The evidence that it improves sleep is weak and comes mostly from small studies. It is a pleasant habit that is unlikely to do harm, so it is optional here. Use a small amount of an oil you are not allergic to, wipe the soles or wear socks so that you do not slip, and avoid broken skin. If you have diabetes or numb feet, ask your doctor first.
When the planner will not help
The traditional night routine assumes an adult who sleeps at night. If you work nights or shifts, or the plan is for a child, the tool says so and shows no times, because a clock-based evening does not fit and a child’s needs differ.
A planner also cannot fix a sleep problem. If you struggle to sleep for more than a few weeks, snore loudly, stop breathing at night or are very sleepy in the day, please see a doctor. Sleep apnoea, depression, anxiety, pain and many medicines affect sleep, and a routine will not fix them. Do not use herbs or sedatives for sleep without medical advice, and do not stop a prescribed medicine because of a traditional routine.
For more, read meal timing, waking and Brahma muhurta and the daily routine planner. The gentle pranayama timer offers a quiet breathing practice for the end of the day. This page describes a tradition and is not medical advice. Please read the medical disclaimer, see a doctor for any sleep or health concern, and a registered Ayurvedic practitioner if you want Ayurvedic treatment.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What time should I sleep according to Ayurveda?
Teachers usually say to be in bed before about 10 pm. There is no research showing that 10 pm itself is special, but a regular bedtime and enough hours of sleep are well supported.
↳ How long before bed should I eat dinner?
The tradition says to eat a light meal early, and the page on evening and sleep suggests two or three hours before bed. The planner uses three. Research links heavy meals close to bedtime with poorer sleep for some people.
↳ Does the planner treat insomnia?
No. It lays out general evening habits and makes no claim about any sleep problem. If you have struggled to sleep for more than a few weeks, please see a doctor.
↳ Is a daytime nap allowed?
The texts discourage sleeping by day for most people, and allow it for children, the elderly, the unwell and in summer. Modern research suggests short naps of 20 to 30 minutes can help alertness, while long or late ones may disturb night sleep.
↳ Why does the planner ask for the wake time and not the bedtime?
Regular wake times are what the research supports best, and the bedtime follows from the hours of sleep you need. Working backwards also keeps you from cutting sleep short to fit a routine.