In our Sleeping With… series, we ask people from different career paths, backgrounds, and stages of life how they make sleep magic happen.
Gal Gadot’s approach to self-care is all about positivity from the inside out. The Wonder Woman actor, who recently announced that she is pregnant with her third child, says that “the better [my wellness practice] is, the better I am.” It’s something she tries to teach her two daughters too—that loving themselves and spending time outdoors, among other good habits, are equal parts of what it means to “be well.”
Gadot sat down with SELF as part of her partnership with Smartwater to chat through what a typical night looks like in her Los Angeles home. Here she shares her nightstand must-haves, how she unwinds with her husband, and all the ways she meditates—cooking included. Read on below.
The routine of putting the girls to bed is always similar.
We bathe them, Alma reads a book, we read Maya a book or two, and then we give them a kiss good night and they go to bed.
Then I finally have some time for myself, and let’s say the time is 8:30.
I’ll take a long shower, and I’ll meditate. I will do my whole beauty routine of all the different things that I wear before I go to bed, serums and stuff like that. I mix my skin and beauty products, and change them—just like my gym and workout routines—because you always have to change.
Now I’m using Augustinus Bader. I also use products from a woman named Karen Barto, who’s a facialist from Israel. She has these amazing products for the face that I bring with me from Israel every time I go there. It’s a whole routine. She numbered everything from her products, so I put six products on my face before I go to bed.
Then I’ll go to the living room and spend the night with my husband.
We’ll drink a glass of red wine and watch a movie. Now there’s a lot of movies to watch and catch up on, because it’s awards season. And I always have a bottle of Smartwater with me.
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I always keep three things on my nightstand.
The first is a huge book about Lisa Howard, which I’m reading for a project that we’re developing with Warner Brothers. She used to be a journalist back in the ’60s. I have a whole book of her diaries and letters and stuff like that. I have a small bowl with Lindt chocolate balls, and I have a candle. I do love candles, but I never go to sleep with them for the obvious reasons.
The biggest thing I try to teach my daughters about self-care is to love themselves and to know how loved they are.
To find their inner voice and confidence within themselves, and speak up. Then, of course, just wellness in general is such an essential part of my life. The better it is, the better I am. I try to find time to work out as much as I can, and to meditate as much as I can, and to eat healthy and to keep myself hydrated and do all the things that keep my soul happy. I try to set an example for them, but also tell them that it’s important to be active, and it’s important to find time for yourself, and it’s important to read a book and run outside. I think that the basic things are the biggest ones.
When I’m feeling like I’m overwhelmed, I love to clear my head.
It can be a walk on the beach, just enjoying the breeze of the ocean and the fresh air. It can be cooking, because cooking is very meditative for me, and I love cooking—it’s just a different form of meditation for me. It can be me trying to meditate with the Headspace app. I use it all the time for years now. It could be having a relaxing night with my husband over a glass of red wine and just talking. Again, it’s the simple things that ground me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.