Nutritionist Javi Aoiz on the perfect routine for sleeping like a baby: "You should try to have dinner an hour and a half or two hours before."

Sleeping doesn't always mean resting like a baby. In fact, for sports nutritionist Javi Aoiz, this expression is misguided. "All the parents tell me they wake up a lot during the night, and that's not what we want," he says in one of his latest videos. His proposal is clear: learn to build a nighttime routine that guarantees eight hours of restful sleep, something essential for athletes and anyone looking to improve their health.

Aoiz reminds us that rest isn't simply a moment of disconnection, but rather an active process in which the body works at its full potential. "During the night, all tissues are repaired, new hormones like growth hormone are generated , and the immune system regulates itself properly," she explains. Poor sleep, on the other hand, translates into greater stress, poorer muscle recovery, and a feeling of exhaustion the next day.

Lack of quality sleep is one of the most common problems among athletes who visit his office. He says they usually face two main issues: difficulty falling asleep or waking up constantly during the night, preventing them from feeling rested upon waking. In some cases, both conditions occur simultaneously, directly affecting physical and mental performance.

The key to combating these difficulties, Aoiz points out, lies in a well-defined nighttime routine. Her method begins two hours before bedtime. The first step is to set your phone to "do not disturb" mode. It's not about stopping using it, but rather reducing stimuli. "This way, you won't receive as many inputs from social media or WhatsApp," she emphasizes.

The second point of the routine has to do with dinner . "You should try to eat dinner an hour and a half to two hours before bedtime," recommends the nutritionist. As he explains, eating dinner early prevents going to bed feeling heavy and improves digestion, which promotes a more restful night's sleep.

An hour before bedtime, the advice is even more blunt: stop using your phone completely. Responding to recent messages, setting your alarm, and putting it away helps reduce exposure to blue light and stimuli that interfere with melatonin production.

Aoiz also focuses on the home environment. She recommends using warm, dimmed lights in the last hour of the day, a detail that can make a difference in the quality of sleep. This environment can be complemented with relaxing activities such as light reading, quiet music, or simply a chat at home. "It's about encouraging disconnection and allowing the body to understand that it's time to rest," she points out.

The ritual concludes just before getting into bed with a warm shower— not too cold or too hot. This gesture helps cool off, especially in summer, and prepares the body for the final phase of sleep.

Although his speech is primarily aimed at athletes, Aoiz's approach is applicable to anyone who suffers from occasional insomnia or simply wants to sleep better. For him, it's not just about getting more hours of sleep, but also about ensuring those hours are quality sleep. "Many people tell me: I wake up and feel like I haven't had any rest at all," he says. And with a well-balanced routine, he assures, that feeling can be reversed.