I grew up a night person.My father worked the third shift at General Motors on the factory line, so as a kid I’d stay up late to see him. But I’m also in middle age, so I’m trying to be better about my sleep.
My routine starts with eating earlier than I used to. I’m that old person who wants to have dinner no later than 6! I want my digestion over when I’m going to bed. I love my Archer Roose wine [Banks’s line], but I’m not a “wind down with wine” person. I’m a “celebrate dinner with wine” person. I keep it early in the day.
To wind down, I love a cup of tea. [Traditional Medicinals] Throat Coat, [Celestial Seasonings] Sleepytime or ginger tea are my three. My younger son Magnus [12] loves to share in that ritual. We love a little piece of milk chocolate too. I’m big on buying a fancy chocolate bar, taking little pieces, and it lasts for a week.
Magnus loves a nighttime facial from Mommy. We often do our skin care together, which is bonding for us. It’s a delight. I’m obsessed with No7’s Future Renew line. [Banks is a spokesperson for the brand.] We lather ourselves in the night cream. He loves to lie down, and he gets a hot cloth, and I give him a head massage.
You can still get a breakout in your 50s. [Banks is 51.] It’s shocking and not fair at all! So I use the pink stuff, the Drying Lotion.
I’ll go to bed late if I can sleep in. But how often does a working mom get to sleep in? There are nights where I’m in bed before my kids [her older son Felix is 14]—“Good night. I’m done parenting!” I want to be in bed by 10 at the latest because I wake up at 6.
My favorites are my silk pajamas from Liberty of London. They are a splurge. Every time I go to London, I buy a set. I grew up wearing oversize T-shirts that were hand-me-downs from my cousins, so I feel like a real lady when I wear pajamas.
I try to read real books, not on my phone. I read The Women in a little book club with my dad. It’s about nurses that come back from Vietnam. My dad served in Vietnam, and I love that we got to connect over it.
It’s a contest to see where our dog Saucer sleeps.My boys will carry him to one of their beds, but inevitably he ends up next to ours. I know it’s nighttime because he’s there.
My husband [Max Handelman] and I are big snugglers.I’m just a cold-footed person, and he has accepted he is my foot warmer, and there’s no getting around it. I’m like, “You’re going to put them in between your legs, and that’s the deal.”
TOP, MIDDLE: EVAN AGOSTINI/INVISION/AP; (HANDELMAN) ARAYA DOHENY/FILMMAGIC; (TEA & CHOCOLATE) GETTY IMAGES; (SAUCER) COURTESY ELIZABETH BANKS