Evening Routine for Winter: How to Wind Down When the Clocks Go Back

By AJ, Sports Nutritionist at BulletCBD · Updated 19 October 2026

Quick answer: A good evening routine for winter starts in the morning: get daylight early, train earlier where you can, then dim the lights, cut screens and keep the same bedtime once the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October. If you want CBD in that wind-down, one 10mg BulletCBD CBD gummy keeps it simple and within the FSA's 10mg daily advice.

The clock change looks harmless: an extra hour in bed. In practice, darker afternoons, cold sessions and later screens can knock an active person's routine off course for weeks. Here is a simple plan for the dark months, what researchers have found about CBD, sleep and stress, and where BulletCBD fits.

When do the clocks go back in 2026?

The clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, returning the UK to Greenwich Mean Time.

Mornings get lighter for a few weeks, but sunset arrives an hour earlier, and by December most of us finish work in the dark.

In a 2024 statement published in the Journal of Sleep Research, the British Sleep Society argued that the UK should stop changing the clocks and stay on GMT all year. Professor Malcolm von Schantz of Northumbria University put it simply: "natural daylight in the morning is crucial for maintaining an optimal alignment of our body clocks."

For anyone building a winter evening routine, that is the key insight. Your evening starts with your morning.

How do you build an evening routine for winter?

Build it backwards from a fixed bedtime, protect your morning light, and make the last hour of the day dim, warm and predictable.

Here is the timeline I give athletes for the dark months. Adjust it to your shifts and training.

Time	What to do	Why it helps the routine
Within an hour of waking	Get outside for 10-20 minutes, or sit by a bright window. Make your morning coffee with a teaspoon of Pure C8 MCT Oil if that's part of your routine.	Morning light is what sleep researchers stress most for keeping body clocks aligned.
Lunch or early afternoon	Walk, run or train in daylight if work allows.	Moves training out of the dark and frees up your evening.
After 5pm	Keep caffeine for earlier in the day; switch to water, herbal tea or a warm milky drink.	Keeps evenings consistent.
Two hours before bed	Last main meal and any hard training finished. Light stretching or a mobility flow instead.	Time to settle after effort.
One hour before bed	Dim the lights, phone on charge in another room, prepare tomorrow's kit. If you use CBD, this is when to take your one gummy or measured spray.	A repeated cue tells you the day is closing.
Bedtime	Same time every night, weekends included. Cool, dark bedroom.	Consistency is the backbone of any sleep routine.

What does the research say about CBD, sleep and stress?

Researchers are actively studying CBD and sleep, but the best-controlled trials so far show mixed and modest results, so it is worth reading the detail.

Sleep in people with insomnia (2024). A randomised, placebo-controlled pilot trial led by Andrea Narayan and Amie Hayley, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2024, gave 150mg of CBD or a placebo oil each night for two weeks to adults with moderate to severe insomnia. Thirty people completed it. The CBD group recorded higher wellbeing scores and better sleep efficiency.

Next-day effects (2024). A follow-up paper from the same trial by Luke Downey and colleagues (Psychopharmacology, 2024) looked at daytime thinking skills and reported that "cognitive performance was unaffected by nightly CBD supplementation." Participants taking CBD did report feeling calmer and more clear-headed than the placebo group, and were more likely to report a dry mouth.

For a deeper look at the sleep studies, read our guide to what the latest research says about CBD for sleep.

Is it worth changing your training when the clocks go back?

For most people, yes: shifting a session or two into daylight makes the whole winter routine easier to keep.

• Move one session to lunchtime. A 30-minute run or lift at midday gets you daylight.
• Keep evening sessions earlier. If you train after work, aim to finish at least two hours before bed.
• Swap late intervals for mobility. Stretching, foam rolling or a walk sit better late in the day than hard efforts.

How do you add CBD to a winter evening routine?

Choose one format, take it at the same point each evening, and stay within the FSA's advised 10mg a day.

1. Pick your format. Each BulletCBD gummy contains exactly 10mg, so there is nothing to measure. Sprays suit people who want a mess-free step and the best value per mg.
2. Anchor it to an existing habit. Brushing your teeth or laying out kit works well. Same time, same amount.
3. Check the label and the lab report. Every BulletCBD batch is tested in-house and then by independent third-party labs, and our products contain 0% THC. Our how to take guide walks through serving sizes for each product.

Our post on building a CBD evening routine for active people covers the basics; this winter version adds the light and timing changes the dark months demand.

Which BulletCBD product suits a winter evening routine?

For most people starting out, the gummies are the easiest choice; for value and a quick kit-bag format, the mint spray.

• 6000mg Mint CBD Oil Spray, 30ml (£34.95, was £64.99). 99%+ pure CBD isolate in C8 MCT oil with fresh mint flavour. Around 0.58p per mg, the best value in our range, and the lowest-risk choice for drug-tested athletes. Each spray is around 20mg, so if you want to stay within 10mg a day, a gummy is easier to measure.
• 1000mg CBD Gummies, 100 pack (£29.99). Exactly 10mg per gummy, matching the FSA's daily advice, broad-spectrum and vegan, in apple, pineapple and strawberry. Subscribe and save 10%.
• Pure C8 MCT Oil, 500ml (£18.99). Not a CBD product, but a useful partner for the morning half of your routine: 100% C8 from coconut, unflavoured, and the same oil that carries our isolate sprays.

All BulletCBD products are made in Mansfield, on the FSA's public list, vegan, and delivered free across the UK.

Frequently asked questions

When do the clocks go back in the UK in 2026?

At 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, clocks go back one hour to 1am, and the UK returns to Greenwich Mean Time until late March.

Is there research on CBD and sleep?

Yes, but it is early. A 2024 pilot trial in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found 150mg of CBD nightly was similar to placebo on most sleep measures, with higher wellbeing scores. Larger studies are still needed.

How much CBD should I take in the evening?

The Food Standards Agency advises healthy adults to limit CBD to 10mg a day. One BulletCBD gummy contains exactly 10mg.

What is the most important part of a winter evening routine?

A consistent bedtime and bright light early in the day. Sleep researchers at the British Sleep Society stress that morning light matters most for keeping body clocks in step.

The bottom line

When the clocks go back on 25 October, the people who handle winter best have a plan: morning daylight, earlier training and a dim, predictable last hour before bed. CBD research on sleep and stress is growing but remains small and mixed, so think of CBD as one consistent step in a routine rather than the whole routine. If you want everything in one order, The Bullet Box brings together the 6000mg Mint Spray, 1000mg Gummies and Pure C8 MCT Oil for £65.99, a saving of £17.94, with free UK delivery.

CBD food supplements are not suitable for under-18s, or for anyone pregnant or breastfeeding. If you take medication, speak to your GP or pharmacist before use. This article is general information, not medical advice. Sources: Narayan AJ, Downey LA, Rose S, Di Natale L, Hayley AC. Cannabidiol for moderate-severe insomnia: a randomized controlled pilot trial of 150 mg of nightly dosing. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2024;20(5):753-763. Downey LA, Narayan AJ, Hayley AC, Rose S, Di Natale L. The effect of nightly use of 150 mg cannabidiol on daytime neurocognitive performance in primary insomnia. Psychopharmacology, 2024. Bloomfield MAP et al. The acute effects of cannabidiol on emotional processing and anxiety: a neurocognitive imaging study. Psychopharmacology, 2022;239(5):1539-1549. British Sleep Society position statement on daylight saving time, Journal of Sleep Research, 2024, as reported by PA Media/Express & Star, 23 October 2024. Express & Star, "UK clocks will go back in October 2026". Food Standards Agency, advice on CBD consumption (10mg a day for healthy adults).