How to Sleep Better
Sleep better with a fixed wake-up time, a cool, dark bedroom, a wind-down hour without screens, and no caffeine after noon, plus the signs that call for a doctor.
You will end up with a fixed wake-up time, a bedroom set up for sleep, an evening routine that starts 1 hour before bed, and a way to handle a racing mind. You will also know the signs that a sleep problem needs a doctor and not another habit.
What you do during the day and in the hours before bed shapes how you sleep. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine calls these habits sleep hygiene and says they can improve your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. They are not a treatment for every sleep problem. The same academy's 2021 guideline for chronic insomnia suggests that clinicians not use sleep hygiene as a treatment on its own, and the closing lists the signs that mean you should see a doctor.
Short sleep is common. The CDC counts less than 7 hours a night as insufficient sleep, and its 2022 survey data put the share of adults getting less than that between 30% in Vermont and 46% in Hawaii. A 2016 CDC report linked sleeping less than 7 hours a night to greater likelihoods of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, frequent mental distress, and death.
None of the steps needs medication. The only things to buy are optional, and they are blackout curtains or a sleep mask, earplugs or a white noise machine, and an alarm clock.
Set a consistent sleep and wake schedule
Get up at the same time every day, including weekends and vacations. That is the first habit on the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's list, and it is the half of the schedule you control. You cannot make yourself fall asleep on time, but you can set an alarm. Your body has an internal clock (circadian rhythm) that manages when you are awake and when you are ready for sleep. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) says regular sleep and waking times can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Then count back from the alarm. The academy says to set a bedtime early enough for at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep. Hold the weekend to the same schedule. NHLBI says to limit the difference between weeknights and weekends to about 1 hour, because staying up late and sleeping in late on weekends can disrupt your body clock's sleep-wake rhythm. If you are not sleepy when your bedtime arrives, wait until you are. The academy's rule is not to go to bed unless you are sleepy.
Good to know: Compare your days off with your workdays. NHLBI says sleeping more on days off might be a sign that you are not getting enough sleep, and that the extra sleep can upset your sleep-wake rhythm. Move your bedtime earlier and keep the alarm where it is.
Make your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet
Set up three things in the bedroom: temperature, light, and noise. Start with temperature. Your body's core temperature drops as you fall asleep, and a warm room works against that. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's advice is a comfortable, cool temperature, and it gives no number. A 2023 study in Science of the Total Environment of older adults sleeping at home found they slept most efficiently between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 25 degrees Celsius), with large differences from one person to the next. Their sleep efficiency fell by 5 to 10% as the room warmed from 77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit (25 to 30 degrees Celsius). Start cool and adjust until you stop waking up hot or cold. Next, make the room dark. NHLBI's advice is a quiet, cool, and dark bedroom, and it says a dim night light is fine if you need one. Use blackout curtains or a sleep mask, and cover or turn away any bright display. NHLBI lists a very bright alarm clock next to TV and computer screens as light that can make it hard to fall asleep. Last, deal with noise. Use earplugs or a white noise machine if you live somewhere loud. A fan makes steady noise and helps keep the room cool.
Build a wind-down routine
Use the last hour before bed as quiet time, which is how NHLBI puts it, and do the same relaxing things in the same order each night. Read a book on paper, stretch, or listen to soothing music. Keep bright screens out of this hour (step 4 covers screens), and finish exercise well before it (step 6). A warm shower or bath has research behind it, but the timing matters. A 2019 meta-analysis in Sleep Medicine Reviews found that bathing in water of about 104 to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (40 to 42.5 degrees Celsius), for as little as 10 minutes, 1 to 2 hours before bed, shortened the time it took to fall asleep. The warm water draws heat to your hands and feet, and your core temperature then drops faster. So take the bath or shower before the quiet hour starts, not right before you turn out the light. The authors caution that the research is scarce, especially on the best timing and duration.
Put screens away at least 1 hour before bed
Put your phone, tablet, and laptop away for the last hour before bed. The sources differ on how long. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the CDC say to turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime, and NHLBI says to avoid bright artificial light, such as a TV or computer screen, in the hour before bed. Use the hour, because it is the same hour as the quiet time in step 3. The reason is light. NHLBI explains that bright artificial light in the late evening can prevent your brain from releasing melatonin, the hormone that helps you feel sleepy. A screen also hands you things to react to, such as work email and news, in the hour you set aside for winding down. Charge your phone in another room, and if you use it as an alarm, buy an alarm clock. At bedtime, check that no screen is within reach of the bed.
Heads up: Night mode and blue-light glasses change only the light, and the evidence for the glasses is thin. A 2023 Cochrane review found 6 trials with 148 participants that measured sleep. Three reported better sleep scores with blue-light filtering lenses and three found no significant difference, and the reviewers called the effect on sleep indeterminate. Neither tool changes what is on the screen. Put the phone in another room instead.
Cut caffeine after noon, and alcohol and large meals before bed
Have your last caffeine before noon. NHLBI says the effects of caffeine can last up to 8 hours, so a cup of coffee in the late afternoon can make it hard to fall asleep at night. In a 2013 sleep study, 400 mg of caffeine (roughly two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee) taken 6 hours before bed still measurably disrupted sleep, and the researchers concluded that people should avoid substantial caffeine for at least 6 hours before bedtime. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's rule is simpler, and it is the one to follow. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening. NHLBI's list of caffeine sources covers caffeinated soda, tea, and chocolate as well as coffee, and it names nicotine as a second stimulant that interferes with sleep. Alcohol helps you fall asleep faster, which is why it seems to work. A 2013 review of the research found that at every dose studied, it also made the second half of the night more disrupted, and at moderate and high doses it reduced REM sleep, the stage most associated with dreaming. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says to avoid alcohol before bedtime, and it gives no cut-off in hours. On a night when sleep matters, skip the drink. Do not eat a large meal before bed. NHLBI's rule is no heavy or large meals within a few hours of bedtime, and it says a light snack is okay. Drink less of everything in the evening, so that a trip to the bathroom does not wake you.
Get daylight and exercise during the day
Spend time outside every day. NHLBI calls light the strongest signal in the environment for resetting your sleep-wake cycle, and its advice is more sunlight during the day and less artificial light at night. A morning walk covers it, and so does lunch outdoors. Be physically active during the day as well. Regular exercise is on the sleep-habit lists of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the CDC, and NHLBI. Finish it at least 5 to 6 hours before bed, which is the gap NHLBI gives people with insomnia, because exercising close to bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep. In the evening, do the reverse and dim the lights. The academy's list says to limit exposure to bright light in the evenings. Do not buy a light therapy lamp to fix your sleep on your own. Bright light therapy is a treatment for body-clock disorders, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine says it should be guided by a sleep doctor. The timing decides the result. NHLBI describes a morning session as moving sleep earlier and a late-afternoon or evening session as moving it later, and it says to ask your doctor first if you have an eye condition or take medicine that makes you sensitive to light.
Handle racing thoughts with a brain dump
If you lie in bed with your mind racing through tomorrow's to-do list, unresolved conversations, or random worries, do a brain dump. Keep a notepad on your nightstand. Before turning off the light, spend 5 minutes writing down what you need to do tomorrow and over the next few days. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General put 57 healthy adults aged 18 to 30 in a sleep lab for a night and found that those who wrote a to-do list before bed fell asleep significantly faster than those who wrote about tasks they had already completed. The more specific the to-do list, the faster they fell asleep. So write "email Sam about the Tuesday invoice", not "work stuff". If you are still awake about 20 minutes after lights out, follow FAQ 4 below.
Start tonight with three changes: a fixed wake-up time (step 1), screens out of reach for the last hour (step 4), and no caffeine after noon (step 5). Keep a sleep diary while you do it. Write down when you go to bed, when you wake up, your naps, your exercise, and your caffeine and alcohol. That is the record NHLBI asks people to keep for 1 to 2 weeks before a doctor's visit, so it shows you which change helped and it is ready if you need it. If you cannot fall asleep, follow FAQ 4 below. If you wake up hot or cold, adjust the room (step 2). If worry still keeps you awake after the list in step 7, our guide on how to reduce stress covers the daytime side. And if you wake up stiff or sore, the bed itself may be part of the problem. Our guide on how to choose a mattress walks through matching one to how you sleep. Talk to a doctor, and keep the habits going, if you have trouble falling or staying asleep at least 3 nights a week or if poor sleep is affecting your days. NHLBI gives 3 nights a week as the mark for insomnia and calls it chronic once it has lasted 3 months. Talk to a doctor as well if someone has noticed loud snoring, gasping, or pauses in your breathing, which are symptoms of sleep apnea, and our guide on how to stop snoring lists the rest. Do the same if you get an irresistible urge to move your legs in the evening, which is the main symptom of restless legs syndrome, or if you are very sleepy during the day even though you regularly get the 7 or more hours in FAQ 1. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine links daytime sleepiness despite enough sleep at night to sleep disorders such as idiopathic hypersomnia, and a sleep doctor rules out sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and narcolepsy first. Habits do not treat those conditions.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
At least 7 hours a night. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours for adults aged 18 to 64, and 7 to 8 hours for adults 65 and older. The CDC's table gives 7 or more hours for ages 18 to 60, a figure it takes from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. Where you fall in the range differs from person to person. NHLBI says sleeping more on your days off than on workdays might be a sign that you are not getting enough. Lost sleep adds up. NHLBI's example is 2 hours lost each night becoming a sleep debt of 14 hours after a week, and it says naps do not make up for it.
Bad for your nights if you have trouble sleeping, and fine in small doses if you do not. NHLBI says a nap may boost your alertness and performance, that adults should nap for no more than 20 minutes, and that anyone who has trouble falling asleep at night should limit naps or take them earlier in the afternoon. For people with insomnia its advice is stricter, which is to avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. So if your nights are the problem, skip naps until they improve. After that, keep any nap to 20 minutes and take it early in the afternoon.
For some problems, yes. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, melatonin may help with jet lag and with delayed sleep-wake phase disorder, where your body clock runs late. For chronic insomnia, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American College of Physicians found there is not enough strong evidence to recommend it. The same page carries four cautions. In the US, melatonin is sold as a dietary supplement, and a 2017 test of 31 products found that most did not contain the amount on the label. Long-term safety has not been well studied. People with epilepsy and people taking blood thinners need medical supervision to use it, and anyone taking other medicine should ask their health care provider first. And it has to be stored out of the reach of children. A CDC report cited on the page estimated 11,000 emergency department visits from 2019 to 2022 for children 5 and younger who swallowed melatonin unsupervised. Talk to a doctor before you take it regularly.
Get up. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine's rule is that if you do not fall asleep after 20 minutes, you get out of bed and do a quiet activity without a lot of light. Go to another room and read a paper book, stretch, or listen to calm music in dim light. Stay off your phone and other electronics, which the academy calls especially important. Return to bed only when you feel sleepy, and use the bed only for sleep and sex. This technique is called stimulus control, and its aim is to link being in bed with being asleep. It is one part of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which the American College of Physicians strongly recommends as the first treatment for chronic insomnia. NHLBI describes CBT-I as a 6- to 8-week plan that a doctor, nurse, or therapist delivers in person, by telephone, or online. If you are getting up like this at least 3 nights a week, ask your doctor about CBT-I.
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