How to Sleep Better: 12 Tips for Getting Restful Sleep

Follow these sleep tips to improve your sleep hygiene, enhance your overall health, and boost daytime alertness.

1. 1. Prioritize sleep. Most healthy adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Not getting enough sleep can cause daytime sleepiness and can affect all other activities in your day.
2. 2. Maintain a sleep routine. Try to maintain a consistent sleep-wake cycle—even on weekends when you might want to sleep in—to regulate your body’s circadian rhythm, or internal clock.
3. 3. Create bedtime rituals. A warm bath, a cup of tea, a light snack, soothing music, and relaxation techniques like deep breathing can help lull you to sleep.
4. 4. Track your sleep. A sleep diary is a log of your sleep schedule. Keeping record of your sleep can help you identify patterns in your sleep-wake cycle and make adjustments to get more consistent sleep.
5. 5. Remove distractions. To ensure a good night’s sleep, keep distracting devices like televisions and computers out of your bedroom.
6. 6. Avoid blue light. Electronic devices like smartphones and tablets emit blue light that can interfere with your circadian rhythm. Minimize your exposure to blue light close to your bedtime.
7. 7. Keep your bedroom cool. To reach deep sleep, your body temperature decreases. Keeping a cool sleep environment—around 65 degrees Fahrenheit—will help you drift off to sleep.
8. 8. Consider using natural sleep aids. Melatonin—a natural sleep hormone available as a dietary supplement—can help regulate your internal sleep cycle.
9. 9. Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bed. Alcohol has a sedative effect that can make you fall asleep quickly, but it can affect the quality of your sleep and cause drowsiness the next day. Drinking coffee or tea in the late afternoon can provide an energy boost, but if you drink caffeine within four hours of your bedtime, you may find yourself unable to fall asleep.
10. 10. Keep daytime naps short. If you are feeling drowsy during the day, it's fine to take a short nap, but napping for too long can affect your ability to fall asleep at night. Set an alarm clock to keep your naps short and efficient—around 20 minutes.
11. 11. Block out disruptive sounds and light. Sound and light exposure interfere with sleep, even if they don't cause you to wake up. If noises disrupt your sleep, try earplugs or a white noise machine. Use blackout shades to keep bright light out of your bedroom. You can also try wearing a sleep mask to block light.
12. 12. Seek medical advice. Sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless leg syndrome are sleep disorders that can greatly affect your sleep patterns. Anxiety and depression can also impact your sleep. For these issues, consult a doctor for help getting into a healthy sleep schedule.

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