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How 'Clean Green' Queen Candice Kumai's Bedtime Ritual Keeps Her on Top of Her Game

The chef, TV host, and best-selling author lets us in on the nighttime routine she swears by.

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Hellin Kay

Candice Kumai, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, TV host, and New York Times best-selling author of the Clean Green cookbooks franchise, is the golden girl of the wellness world. She's a go-to source on all things clean eating and also serves up some serious #fitspiration to tens of thousands on social media. If you're not already following her, you've definitely seen her on air, cooking her popular recipes live or as a health expert on Today, E!, the Food Network, and more. Here's the nighttime routine she considers a foundation for performing at her best.

"Sleep is the fountain of youth. It's a privilege to be able to get eight hours every night and I cherish it. I just feel like in your thirties, you really realize how precious it is to get a lot of sleep. I try to go work out around 6, 6:30, or 7 P.M. every night. I usually go to the The Bar Method, just so I can see my girlfriends, check out, and stop looking at a screen. Then I usually try to come back then and eat a really nice, clean meal. I've found that when I eat really clean and spend a good day outside the house, moving around, or like going to the park or shopping with a girlfriend or going to yoga, I tend to come back and get much better sleep. I'm more positive before going to bed. If I don't have anxiety about something or I'm not sad about something, like if I stay positive and mentally I feel really good about the day, I tend to sleep a lot better."

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Hellin Kay

"I used to go to bed at 8 P.M. and wake up at 5 A.M. and it felt amazing, but what happens is that kills your social life. My friends were like, 'We really miss you! You should come to brunch, you should come to wine, to dinner!' Obviously I'm friends with all the chefs in [New York City], so I have to make my way back out. I'm still really adamant about trying to get eight hours every night if I can. Five years ago, when I first moved to New York from L.A., I used to work until midnight every night. Now there's no way that I could work that way. I would burn out really quick. I think a lot of us make that mistake. As go-getters in the toughest city in the nation we want to believe that the longer you work and burn in front of a computer, the better you'll get ahead. That is sort of tapering off now that we realize that wellness is at the forefront of popularity right now.

"I've been keeping digital devices out of the bedroom for a long time, way before people started talking about it. My dad is a nuclear auditor; he's the most brilliant person when it comes to electronics and neurology, and he always said don't leave electronic devices near your head. When an iPad or phone or computer is in your room, they sort of disrupt your peace of mind. It's so precious to me to have it out. You do not need to sleep next to your phone. Get an alarm clock! I got one of my grandma's alarm clocks from Japan. It's kind of nice to just have a little peace and think about her."

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Hellin Kay

"The only electronic thing I have in my room is a nice noise machine because I live on Wall Street. I also have a diffuser for my essential oils. I would die without them. I make a rose water spray that I use to relax and my friend Tiffany has a company called Chen Skin Health and she has this awesome manuka spray. I put it on before I go to bed and that refreshes me. There are also Young Living oils and Doterra. They're great quality–don't buy cheap stuff. It's just like wine. So, I put a few drops of lavender in my diffuser and when I turn it on at night it diffuses the oils into the whole room and keeps you relaxed. It's like a spa atmosphere.

"I love to keep plants in my room. I'm from California and grew up with this humongous backyard and my mom is a total gardener, so I kind of grew up surrounded by a lot of produce. I started putting succulents all over my bedroom windows, an ivy plant that comes down from the blinds up top, aloe, and other plants. I just give them love; they're like my babies. They give you love, too, which is a really important thing to feel in your bedroom."

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Hellin Kay

"Every night I try to make my own tea–a blend of lavender and rose petals, and sometimes I have a Celestial Seasonings one. I really like peppermint tea at night. I've been reading a book called Journey to the Heart every night and I've been doing that for seven years. It's a devotional. It really speaks to me and I've given that book to many people over the last few years. I also pray, because I'm so grateful for everything I do have–that's something I've been doing since I was little."

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Hellin Kay

"Women spend a humongous amount of time wearing makeup, for about 12 hours out of the day, which is ridiculous. So I take off everything at night if I can. I use squalane on my eyes, which is already found in your body, so it's kind of like giving back. The brand that I use now is Biossance and it's a naturally plant-derived product and they give back to charity, so that makes me feel really good. I use all-natural products now, so I use Skin Health products and my friend Indie Lee's products and I use Naturopathica too. I try to live my whole life green, top to bottom.

"My nighttime ritual is paramount. It's the one thing that keeps me going. It you want to perform better at work, sleep is definitely the thing–it's free, it's easy, and it's available to everyone. If you dedicate a lot of time to sleep it can also help to balance out the rest of your life because you'll feel better, you'll look better, and you'll value something that the body really truly needs."


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