Bedtime (also called putting to bed or tucking in) is a ritual part of parenting to help children feel more secure and become accustomed to a more rigid schedule of sleep than they might prefer. The ritual of bedtime is aimed at facilitating the transition from wakefulness to sleep.[1] It may involve bedtime stories, children's songs, nursery rhymes, bed-making and getting children to change into nightwear. In some religious households, prayers are said shortly before going to bed.[2] Sleep training may be part of the bedtime ritual for babies and toddlers.[3]
In adult use, the term means simply "time for bed", similar to curfew, as in "It's past my bedtime". Some people are accustomed to drinking a nightcap or herbal tea at bedtime. Sleeping coaches are also used to help individuals reach their bedtime goals.[4] Researchers studying sleep are finding patterns revealing that cell phone use at night disturbs going to sleep at one's bedtime and achieving a good night's sleep.[5]
In boarding schools and on trips or holidays that involve young people, the equivalent of bedtime is lights out or lights-out - this term is also used in prisons, hospitals, in the military, and in sleep research.
In the pre-digital newspaper era, a newspaper, usually daily, was "put to bed" when editorial work on the issue had formally ceased, the content was fixed, and printing could begin.