Amidst the hustle of modern life, it’s easy to underestimate the importance of a good night’s sleep. However, most of us have experienced what happens when we sleep poorly, feeling the toll it takes on mind, body, and spirit. A good night’s sleep lays a foundation for a good day ahead.
In this article, we provide a collection of 45+ good night quotes, which can offer comfort, nourishment, and reflection before drifting to sleep. By reading through quotes like these ones before bed, you can relax your mind and renew your spirit, paving the way for a night of deep rest.
A Collection of 45+ Inspiring Good Night Quotes
- “Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking.” - Rumi
- "Sleep is the best meditation." - Dalai Lama
- “Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together.” - Thomas Dekker
- "Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn." - Mahatma Gandhi
- “I love the silent hour of night, for blissful dreams may then arise, revealing to my charmed sight, what may not bless my waking eyes.” - Anne Brontë
- “I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day.” - Vincent Van Gogh
- "Night is purer than day; it is better for thinking and loving and dreaming." - Elie Wiesel
- “Never apologize for burning too brightly or collapsing into yourself every night. That is how galaxies are made.” - Tyler Kent White
- “Sunset is the opening music of the night.” - Mehmet Murat Ildan
- “Be aware of your breathing. Notice how this takes attention away from your thinking and creates space.” - Eckhart Tolle
- "Night is the other half of life, and the better half." - Goethe
- "It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it." - John Steinbeck
- "Tired minds don't plan well. Sleep first, plan later." - Walter Reisch
- "The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep." - E. Joseph Cossman
- "Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." - Ovid
- "Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be." - Sonia Ricotti
- "Day is over, night has come. Today is gone, what’s done is done. Embrace your dreams, through the night. Tomorrow comes with a whole new light.” - George Orwell
- "You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway." - Steve Maraboli
- “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer.” - Maya Angelou
- “Goodnight stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere.” - Margaret Wise Brown
- "A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow." - Charlotte Brontë
- “Never waste any time you can spend sleeping.” - Frank H. Knight
- "Night is a world lit by itself." - Antonio Porchia
- “A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.” - Irish Proverb.
- “Even a soul submerged in sleep is hard at work and helps make something of the world.” - Heraclitus
- “I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.” - Sarah Williams
- “We love the night and its quiet; and there is no night that we love so well as that on which the moon is coffined in clouds.” - Fitz-James O’Brien
- "Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness." - Thich Nhat Hanh
- "The mind should be allowed some relaxation, that it may return to its work all the better for the rest." - Seneca
- "If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down." - Toni Morrison
- "You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future." - Unknown
- "Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." - Melody Beattie
- "Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths." - Etty Hillesum
- "Rest and be thankful." - William Wordsworth
- "Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
- “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” Francis Bacon
- "Man is a genius when he is dreaming.” - Akira Kurosawa
- "There is renewal in rest.” - Lailah Gifty Akita
- "Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life." - Eckhart Tolle
- “Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.” - Thomas de Quincey
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Sleep is the best time to repair, but it’s hard to get a good night’s rest when we don’t dial the inner chatter down.” - Kris Carr
- “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” - L.M. Montgomery
- “Nothing happens unless first we dream.” - Carl Sandburg
- "Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.” - William S. Burroughs
- “Good night. May you fall asleep in the arms of a dream so beautiful you’ll cry when you awake.” - Michael Faudet
How to Use Good Night Quotes
Incorporating good night inspirational quotes into your daily routine is a wonderful way to mindfully transition from activity to deep rest. Consider these four ways of using these quotes before bedtime:
- Bedtime Journaling: If you journal before bed (or if you’d like to start), begin your nightly entry with a bedtime quote that stands out to you. Write about what the quote means to you and why you’ve chosen it for that evening.
- Mindful Reflection: Read through the full list of good night quotes and notice which ones stand out to you. Consider what wisdom this quote is sharing with you. What does it want you to take with you into sleep? What does it want you to leave behind?
- Positive Affirmation: You can also turn good night quotes into affirmations. Memorize your favorite - whichever one feels most uplifting or soothing to you. Then, repeat it to yourself for one to two minutes after you’ve crawled into bed. For example, you could try this practice with the following quote by Thich Nhat Hanh: "Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness."
- Evening Conversation Starter: If you live with someone, you can let these quotes serve as mindful evening conversation starters. Each person can choose a favorite good night quote for the evening. Recite it to one another and have a conversation about how the words impact you.
Note that not all of the quotes on this list are quotes about the night. Some of them are not specifically about sleep, but they speak to what is most needed for a good night’s sleep: letting go, relaxing, and ultimately, surrender.
If you have other creative ideas about how to incorporate these quotes into your evening routine, explore them. Use them in any way that feels good to you - daily, or whenever you feel inspired to.
Summing up
Many of us transition hastily between daytime activity and evening rest. When we do this, we often carry the stressors of the day into our sleeping hours, which interrupts the rest we so deeply desire. This list of special good night quotes is a wonderful resource we can turn to to help ourselves transition mindfully from wakefulness to sleep.
These powerful words serve as reminders to rest both body and mind as we turn in for the night. They can uplift our spirit and help us release what we do not need to carry into sleep. They remind us of the gift of rest - and why prioritizing sleep is essential for a healthy mind, body, and soul.
Let your mind and body relax as you take in these words. May the best good night quotes help you drift calmly and gently into a night of sweet dreams.
