Matthew Walker’s 11 Tips for Improving Sleep Quality

Dr. Matthew Walker is a specialist in the study of slumber and the founder-director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. The influential British neuroscientist is the author of the international bestseller Why We Sleep (2017), recommended by The New York Times for “night-table reading in the most pragmatic sense” and endorsed by Bill Gates. In addition to examining how sleep affects the brain and body, Matthew has analyzed everything from its role in Alzheimer’s disease and depression to how it can facilitate learning and, potentially, extend our life expectancy. He received his Ph.D. from the Medical Research Council at Nottingham University in London in 1996, eventually becoming an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in 2004. As a certified sleep scientist, Matthew has conducted extensive research and studies into the impact of sleep and how it affects our physical and mental health.

Sleep is important because it can help us physically heal, recover from illness, deal with stress, solve problems, consolidate memories, and improves motor skills. A good night’s sleep isn’t just about how many hours of sleep you get, but also the quality of that sleep.

• NREM sleep aids physical recovery. There are two essential kinds of sleep: non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM). NREM sleep helps your body wind down and fall into a deep sleep, which allows you to feel more rested in the morning. NREM sleep can help us physically heal, recover from illness, deal with stress, and solve problems. NREM sleep also plays a role in memory consolidation and can help boost the immune system.
• REM sleep bolsters learning and memory. REM sleep affects your mood, memory, and learning efficiency. Getting enough REM sleep can improve recall and memory consolidation and help your brain regulate the synapses associated with some types of motor learning. REM sleep is the sleep phase closest to wakefulness, and where most of our dreaming occurs. The ontogenetic hypothesis claims that neuron activity involved in the REM sleep cycle stimulates newborns’ developing brains, helping them form mature synaptic connections. While scientists are uncertain about the exact reason for dreams, they speculate that it is how our brains process emotions.

Sleep expert Matthew Walker has some tips that can help you get better sleep at night:

1. 1. Find a routine. Your body’s internal clock follows a specific sleep-wake cycle. Going to bed late one night and early the next throws your circadian rhythm off balance. Attempting to catch-up on missed sleep (sleep deficit) over the weekend may not always be effective and can result in physical and mental fatigue. Thus, adhering to a daily sleep schedule can be highly beneficial for your overall health and well-being.
2. 2. Cut the late-night cardio. If you’re feeling run-down in the morning, your late-night workout on the treadmill may be to blame. For some, a midnight workout or intensive yoga session too close to bedtime can make it harder for the brain to wind down. Aim to finish heavy exercise two to three hours before hitting the sack. Learn more about how exercise impacts sleep quality.
3. 3. Reduce caffeine and nicotine consumption. Caffeine temporarily blocks the signal from adenosine, a crucial sleep chemical in your brain, which nonetheless continues to accumulate. This pent-up adenosine eventually breaks through, causing a dramatic crash, often at inopportune times. Nicotine, another stimulant, can lead to very light sleep.
4. 4. Tamp down on the alcohol. Alcohol before bed may help you relax, but too much of it can contribute to a lack of sleep. Alcohol robs you of REM sleep—the deep slumber your brain requires for optimal restoration. Heavy alcohol consumption can also impair your breathing at night and isn’t good for staying asleep, either (you tend to wake up multiple times, even if you don’t remember doing so).
5. 5. Eat light at night. When it comes to late-night eating, small snacks are preferable to heavy meals, which can cause indigestion that interferes with your sleep. Avoid drinking fluids a couple of hours before bedtime to prevent frequent bathroom trips in the middle of the night, interrupting sleep, which can lead to sleep fragmentation.
6. 6. Talk to your doctor about your medication schedule. Some heart and lung medications, and over-the-counter cold and allergy drugs, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, ask your health-care provider or pharmacist if medication may be the culprit—and whether you can take them earlier in the day.
7. 7. Leave time to unwind. Create a relaxing routine before bed—like reading, listening to music, or doing light stretching. Matthew also recommends keeping a worry journal, which can help you process difficult emotions before bed.
8. 8. Baths are best. It sounds paradoxical, but taking a hot bath before bed can drop your body temperature once you’re in bed, in addition to making you feel sleepier and more relaxed.
9. 9. Check your devices at the door. Think of the ideal bedroom as a prehistoric cave somewhere in the Great North: cool, dark, and gadget-free. Charge your phone in another room, get rid of electronics that cause noise, and ditch the alarm clock, which can make you hyper-aware of every passing minute.
10. 10. Get some sun. Exposing yourself to natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes a day can help regulate your sleep patterns. Aim to catch those rays in the morning, which can make you more alert as you start your day. Also, turn the lights down before bedtime to avoid disrupting melatonin production.
11. 11. Avoid lying in bed for too long. Lying in bed for prolonged periods, hoping you’ll finally nod off, isn’t an ineffective sleep strategy, but it can make you anxious and frustrated. Your brain will associate bed with being awake if you do anything in it besides sleeping or sex. If you cannot transition into wakefulness after about 25 to 30 minutes of lying in bed, get up and do a relaxing activity until you start feeling sleepy.

Saw some of the best darn logs of your life with a MasterClass Annual Membership and exclusive instructional videos from Dr. Matthew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep and the founder-director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Between Matthew’s tips for optimal snoozing and info on discovering your body’s ideal rhythms, you’ll be sleeping more deeply in no time.