How to Sleep Better at Night

Just like enjoying a nutritious diet and staying active, getting a good night’s sleep is essential for a healthy and happy lifestyle! Our UK Sleep Survey told us that, on average, people have a disturbed, broken, or bad night’s sleep 2.1 times per week, and just 6% stated they always wake up feeling refreshed.

So, if you suffer from low-quality sleep, you are definitely not alone. Luckily there are several ways to help yourself sleep better at night naturally.

From easy lifestyle tweaks to handy sleep aids, plenty of fun and natural solutions exist. Check out our top tips for a better night’s sleep below:

A good bedtime routine isn’t just for kids—it’s for anyone who wants to sleep like a baby! The trick is to hit the hay and rise at the same time every day, even on weekends. Our bodies love a steady rhythm, so this regular schedule helps you feel sleepy at the right time and wake up feeling refreshed

Light is a key player in syncing up your natural body clock. Bright light during the day and darkness at night send signals to your brain and hormones about when to sleep and wake up. For instance, when it gets dark, your body releases melatonin, which whispers, ‘Time to sleep!’ So, soak up that sunshine during the day—natural sunlight is ideal, but a bright lamp works too—to keep your rhythm in check.

Making sure you’re not exposed to too much light during the night is key, as well as getting light during the day. Blue light, which reduces melatonin, is emitted from screens when watching TV or using your laptop or smartphone. Since melatonin is vital to tiring your body, scrolling or using social media may affect your sleep. So, before catching some Zzz’s, it’s best to have a break from screens an hour before… as hard as it may be. Try to unwind by reading a good old book, doing yoga, or listening to a podcast.

You come home late, exhausted, and you want to get into bed and sleep. But it doesn’t happen. Why? Because your mind is still active from the day’s activity, and now that it’s free from distractions, it will start to wander and keep you awake. Before going to bed, set aside some time to chill by reading a book, taking a bath, or making art. You may even want to consider starting a sleep diary to unload your thoughts.

By performing other activities in bed, such as watching TV or listening to music or podcasts, you subconsciously start to attach these activities to your bed. Then, when you get into bed, your body starts to prepare for some input and is less likely to associate bed with sleep. Be sure to restrict your bedtime activities to sleep, sex, and lots of cuddles.

Having a bedroom set up for sleep can help with drifting off. Think about temperature, noise, external lights, de-cluttering, and even your bed frame and mattress. Ensure your sleep environment is dark, quiet and tidy so your mind is free of distractions. If you need sound to help you fall asleep, try white noise videos or have a fan on. There are lots of sounds to help you sleep, such as listening to a relaxing podcast or even watching ASMR for sleep. Just make sure to limit blue light intake so you don’t harm your sleep schedule even more.

Make sure your bedroom temperature is between 18 and 24℃ for sleep, as this is the best temperature for optimal sleep. If you’re too hot or too cold, it can impact how much sleep you get or cause you to wake up. 

If you’re lying in bed awake, your body may begin to associate the bed with being awake. Therefore, you should give yourself around twenty minutes to get to sleep—try not to check the clock but estimate how long you have been lying there. If, after this time, you are still awake, get out of bed, leave the bedroom, and do something relaxing like reading until you feel sleepy. If all else fails, we’ve got the perfect guide for you – how to get to sleep in the middle of the night.

If you are a smoker, you might think a cigarette before bedtime is a good way to unwind. However, nicotine is a stimulant and is more likely to keep you awake. So if you can’t quit smoking, then you should at least refrain from smoking within 2 hours of bedtime.

Caffeine is also a stimulant; it is advisable to stop having caffeine at least seven hours before bedtime, as studies have shown that it can still affect your body six hours after you have consumed it. Finally, although alcohol helps many people relax, having a drink at bedtime doesn’t improve sleep quality…. it reduces REM sleep.

Eating late at night won’t help you sleep and can inhibit melatonin production. A late meal can also affect your digestion, which can interrupt your slumber. Because of how your digestive system is set up, eating late can cause indigestion and heartburn, which can make sleep difficult. As a general rule of thumb, you should wait two to three hours after eating before resting your head. But for those who get peckish late, try these sleep-promoting snacks that will leave you satisfied and sleepy.

Although exercising too close to bedtime isn’t a good idea, getting regular exercise during the day can help you sleep at night. Exercise boosts the effects of sleep hormones, helping you get them forty winks. As little as 10 minutes of walking or cycling keeps you active and can help you sleep later.

You could try essential oils, such as lavender, chamomile and marjoram. You can burn them (diluted in water) in an oil burner, massage a few drops into your chest, or dilute some in water and spray them onto your pillow. Natural supplements can also be used to aid sleep. Valerian root, lavender and passionflower have been shown to help with rest.

For inspiration, check out essential oils and aromatherapy for sleep and the guide to CBD for sleep – they’ll help calm your mind, especially if you are stressed.

One of the most common causes of insomnia is stress. Sleeplessness causes us more anxiety, and the cycle continues. Get into the habit of labelling worries as either ‘hypothetical’ or ‘real’ worries. If they are hypothetical, learn to let them go; if they are real, create a plan of action. You can also do cognitive behaviour therapy for anxiety, which can help you tackle your unhelpful thinking styles.

Bringing the outside world in can really calm your mind before bed and help you sleep better. Try adding different bedroom plants into your space. Not only do these look great, but they can also help you relax, purify the air, and induce sleep. For inspiration, check out our post on plants to help you sleep.

You can also use natural salt lamps or bring in crystals. Salt lamps offer many benefits to help you sleep better, including oxidising the air and emitting a calming light. Introducing crystals can improve sleep quality by helping calm stress and anxiety, which can naturally help you fall asleep.

This is one of the most common issues for poor sleepers, as they tend to expect 8 hours every night. While you might not need 8 hours of sleep, how much sleep you need depends on many aspects. For example, women need more sleep than men. But quality is more important than quantity here, so concentrate more on getting a good amount of deep sleep.

While these tips on how to sleep better can be done yourself, without the need for intervention, if you are struggling with your slumber, don’t suffer in silence. Our sleep expert, Sammy, advises you to contact your GP for more information.