The evening reset: Designing a simple 60-minute hot tub routine for stress recovery

Blue light and endless scrolling have a disturbingly powerful ability to convince the brain that keeping you up until 1am is an excellent idea, so put that little rectangle of doom down somewhere inconvenient, where you’re not going to be reaching for it every two seconds.  

The hour before bed is not the time for productivity. It’s time for what we like to call gentle faff. Wrap yourself in a blanket, make a hot drink of something comforting (we recommend picking some herbs from the garden if they’re on hand) then step outside and stand barefoot in the grass / sand / earth and remember for a minute that you are in fact, an animal. Trust us, your brain likes it.  

If you’re lucky you might even get to do “bat watch”, which is honestly one of the great underrated British evening activities.

Settle into the water for twenty minutes and allow yourself to properly stop for a while. If you’re tubbing solo, just listen to nature’s soundtrack and try to slow your breathing. If you have company, this is where conversations can become strangely philosophical. You might find yourself suddenly asking questions like:  

"Do you think sheep recognise each other?" (the answer to this is yes by the way, and it’s adorable) 

"Can we move here and open a bakery?" 

"Should we get chickens?" 

No one knows why this happens but stick a couple in a hot tub surrounded by nature, and it’s highly likely they’ll start planning an entirely fictional new life together.  

Most importantly, don’t forget to look up. There was once a time before streetlights and smartphones, when the moon and stars were our backdrop, our calendar and our map. Most of our places are far enough from heavy light pollution that the stars put on a decent show. And you don't need to know any constellations – a simple "cor, look at that", works perfectly well.

The trick now is not to undo all your good work and sleepy magic you’ve just created by immediately lying in bed watching videos of animals doing various cute things on the internet. So, once you're out, resist the temptation to grab your phone. Instead, take a warm shower, pull on your cosiest pyjamas and keep the lights low – we don't entirely trust people who sit under the big light like they're being interrogated. Ambience is key here.  

This final part of the evening is the moment for adding one last log to the fire and wrapping yourself in a blanket burrito while watching the flames flicker, reading a chapter of the book you’ve been carrying round with you for six months before falling asleep with it on your chest, or simply climbing into bed while you're still pleasantly warm from the water. And if you STILL need a little help drifting off, our nature Soundscapes on Spotify are guaranteed to sort you out.

These small steps create a gentle buffer between the business of the day and the moment your head finally hits the pillow. By the second evening of a stay at one of our spaces, the routine almost creates itself. You know where the robes are, you've claimed your favourite side of the tub and you're already looking forward to bat watch and whatever bizarre conversation topic tonight's soak will produce.