The superstar's bedtime routine is not just relatable—it's also smart, according to research. Here's how she shakes off the day.
Taylor Swift may command stadiums with superhuman energy and charm, but her post-concert routine when she needs to calm down reflects something surprisingly down-to-earth—and may actually be pretty brilliant, according to sleep research.
In a video clip from her Wednesday appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote her new The End of an Era docuseries, released today on Disney+, Swift explained that after her marathon Eras Tour performances, she didn’t drift peacefully into a meditative cool-down. Instead, the superstar described having the feeling of a “flickering lightbulb” after her shows. “It’s crazy that people are being so nice and wonderful, and that’s hard to go to sleep after,” Swift told Colbert.
The singer revealed she actually does what many of us do after an overstimulating day: she runs a bath, listens to audiobooks or watches a show like Dateline, eats some late-night snacks (in her case, room service), does a fairly mindless activity to shut her brain off (it just happens to be signing a stack of thousands of CDs), and eventually dozes off into sleep.
Research suggests her instinctive wind-down strategy aligns with what science now knows about how the brain comes down from intense stress and adrenaline. A 2021 study found that cortisol levels often peak during recovery, not during the stressful event itself, meaning the hormone stays elevated for a bit after the stimulus ends as the sympathetic nervous system gradually winds down. Research also shows that dopamine released during intense excitement can prolong alertness and delay natural sleep onset, even when physical exhaustion is present.
Rather than fighting that alertness, Swift’s routine works with it. Warm baths, for example, trigger parasympathetic activity while gradually lowering core body temperature afterward—a combination linked with faster sleep onset, according to a clinical review of research.
And the most unexpected yet scientifically-supported piece? Her choice to keep doing something mildly productive—like signing stacks of CDs—before bed. Low-effort, repetitive tasks can help the brain shift out of high arousal by providing structure without intense stimulation, a concept supported by research published in the journal Human Nature. In that research, repetitive behavior following stress was shown to be capable of reducing physiological arousal. It’s the same principle behind adult coloring books or knitting: gentle focus calms the threat-sensing parts of the brain.
What’s most striking is that Swift’s so-called “routine” actually reflects a concept sleep specialists have been urging for years: don’t force yourself to relax and let your nervous system taper naturally. This strategy is supported by a 2025 clinical review of research published in Sleep Medicine Reviews showing that bedtime routines facilitate de‑arousal and the natural transition from wakefulness to sleep by lowering physiological and cognitive activation levels.
By following her body’s lead instead of fighting it, Swift might have inadvertently created the ideal post-adrenaline decompression ritual.
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